Harriers Nip Columbia, Place Second in Tri-Meet

Harvard's cross country quintet legged its way around a five-mile circuit of Van Cortland Park today accompanied by the rattle of the Broadway El while defeating host squad Columbia.

The harriers were less successful against an undefeated Penn squad, as the Quakers logged their fifth win by a margin of ten points.

Nevertheless, the Crimson's come-from-behind 17-19 win over the Lions prompted ebullient Coach Bill McCurdy to say moments after his team crossed the tape, "I feel that I'm probably the greatest coach in any legal sport."

After a four mile trek over sand hills, shrubbery, Fordham gneiss and rain showering the Bronx, the Harvard runners were still trailing the field coming up to Cemetery Hill, the aptly named final obstacle on the undulating course.

Unflappable and Undaunted

Unflappable and undaunted Rockwell Moulton and Captain Jeff Campbell "found the inner will," according to McCurdy, as Moulton outstripped a host of Columbia runners and Campbell's closing kick pulled him ahead of another lagging Lion 150 yards from the wire.

When the final points were tabulated, the Quakers had won, 24-34, while Harvard and Columbia stood deadlocked with 28 points apiece.

A tiebreaker ruling was then invoked in which only the scores of the first four finishers on each team were counted.

When the scores of Pete Fitzsimmons, Campbell, Reed Eichner and Moulton were tallied, the harriers had a 17-19 win over a Columbia squad that has already trampled Stonybrook, C.W. Post, the Rams of Fordham, and Navy's Midshipmen in what McCurdy called "a decided upset."

Campbell said "we really looked good most of the way through," but added "we didn't run as a group--otherwise we would have won outright."

Loping Along

The opposing squads loped along en masse while solitary Crimson runners dotted the landscape. The advantage of running in packs, McCurdy explained, is that "the fellows who are slower will tend to hold up and stay with the faster men."

Both Penn and Columbia decided to move out slowly and started to pick up the pace over the grueling second mile stretch of the circuit which left the Harvard runners momentarily nonplussed.

McCurdy felt both Fitzgibbons and Campbell "didn't run as well as they might have the second mile because they were unfamiliar with the rough terrain," as the harriers had to wend their way through the rock outcroppings that littered the course.

Closing Burst

The Crimson found itself slipping into the rear, setting the stage for the closing burst that left McCurdy in raptures. "It's very difficult once you get behind and so often you just go through without snapping back," he said.

Columbia's senior all-American Paul Heck led all runners, followed by the Quakers' Fiore and Scholtz. Fitzimmons was the first Harvard runner to cross the wire, finishing fourth overall with a time of 25:17. Campbell clocked a 25:20 to finish fifth ahead of teammates Eichner, Moulton and Stein Rafto.

Big Surprise

Campbell felt the third and fourth slots were the key to the meet, since both Eichner and Moulton turned in sterling efforts. The captain added that Eichner, who is a freshman, "has been a big surprise" and "really ran tough."

What pleased McCurdy even more than his squad's second tiebreaker win in as many seasons was the progress the harriers have made in comparison with their performances last year at this stage of the season.

He took it all in stride though, saying "Justice will triumph."