Crimson Trackmen Down Virginia, William and Mary

Harvard carried over its winning ways from the winter track season last week, basking in the warmth of the Virginia sunshine and a pair of dual meet victories over the University of Virginia and William and Mary.

The squad opened its southern journey with a 101-71 win over Virginia March 28 and then downed William and Mary, 92 1/2-70 1/2 March 30 before closing out the trip by participating in the Colonial Relays, April 3, at Williamsburg.

Personal Bests

In the process, the Crimson produced a number of personal best times and several unexpectedly strong performances.

"The trip certainly accomplished everything we hoped for," coach Bill McCurdy said yesterday. "It went a long way in helping us to regroup from the winter season."

Coming off a 7-1 indoor season, the trackmen had no trouble re-establishing themselves as winners, cruising to a 30-point victory against Virginia.

A group of five relatively inexperienced freshmen gave the Crimson a strong boost in the weight events against the Cavaliers. Tom McDevitt led off the strong Yardling performance by tossing the hammer 173 ft. for first place in that event. Gary Quantock then led a sweep in the shotput with his first-place 49-ft. 8-in. throw.

In the javelin, freshmen Dave Kinney and Mike Stewart nabbed second and third. Finally, Joe Pellegrini came through with a first-place discus throw of 144 ft.

In other field events, Mel Embree and John McCulloch each leaped 6 ft. 10 in. in the high jump, Hunt Block picked up second in the long jump, and Ahmed Kayali bounded to second place in the triple jump against a Virginia all-American.

In the running competition, distance standout Pete Fitzsimmons finished a non-surprising second in the three mile. But he surprised everyone with his 9:19.8 victory in the steeplechase.

Jeff Campbell and Stein Rafto strode to an impressive 1-2 finish in the mile against the Cavaliers, while Joel Peters won the half-mile in 1:53.4 and Sam Butler came away with victories in the 440 (48.9) and the intermediate hurdles (53.8).

Todd Hooks sprinted to first place in the 100 with a 10-flat clocking.

Against William and Mary, the Crimson came in expecting a relatively low-key meet but soon discovered that the contest had been widely publicized and billed as "The Bicentennial Classic."

Harvard deflated its opponents' patriotic fervor with the 20-point victory, snapping a nine-year William and Mary home unbeaten streak in the process.

Once again, Harvard started out strong in the weight events as Ed Ajootian and Kinney won the hammer and javelin, respectively.

Embree leaped to a pair of victories in the long jump (22 ft. 6 in., a personal best) and the high jump (6 ft. 10 in.), while Geoff Stiles took the pole vault and Ahmed Kayali bounded to first place in the triple jump.

Campbell and Rafto ran strong in the mile again, placing 1-2 with 4:07.4 and 4:09.4 times respectively. Butler again cleaned up in the 440 and the intermediate hurdles, and Steve Brown garnered first in the half-mile with a 1:52.7 clocking.

The Colonial Relays yielded only a handful of noteworthy performances, as the Crimson faced tough competition from nearly 30 colleges and clubs. Still, Kinney threw the javelin 224 ft. 4 in. for first, Rafto won the 5000-meter run in 14:33.2 and Embree leaped a meet record 7 ft. to win the high jump.

The team victories and the sunshine were not the only bright spots on the trip. First, Hooks and distance runner Bill Okerman look strong after rebounding from injuries. Other potential point-getters include freshmen McDevitt, Pellegrini and Kinney in the weight events. Campbell and Rafto in the mile, and the amazingly versatile Embree in practically every event you can name.

"The real big question mark," McCurdy says, "is Fitzsimmons," who came home early after a thigh injury against Virginia.

Despite Fitzsimmons's injury, McCurdy is well satisfied with the trip ("there was a positive effort on the part of everybody"), and he is optimistic about his squad's upcoming meets.

The first test will come this Saturday against Northeastern. "I think we can beat them," miler Campbell said yesterday. "They didn't look too good on paper."

The Huskies should need no incentive to make a strong run at Harvard, though--they lost a 60-58 squeaker to the Crimson in January.