Army Troops In, Tramples Track Men

The Army track team defeated Harvard, 78-57, across the river Saturday afternoon. However, team trainer Henry Jannergran's wife best described what beat the Crimson: "Hela laget var sjukt i dag."

The Swedish translates, "the whole team was sick today," and sick they were as somebody in every event except the 1000 was affected to some degree by a pervasive flu ailment.

Army's 21-point victory actually speaks well for the crippled Crimson. Peter Fitzsimmons, who finished second in the two-mile at 9:16, said, "It was close as it was, and if we were healthier we might have won."

Bright spots among the infirmities came from the Harvard regulars Ed Ajootian, Dan Sullivan, John Murphy, Chris Queen and Hasan Kayali. Fitzsimmons' high finish signaled a strong return to varsity racing after a long war with tendonitis. And Gary Schmidt won the 440 in fine form after missing several meets.

Ajootian seized first place in the 35-lb. weight event with a heave of 66 ft. 3/4 in. With this throw he outdistanced his winning mark in the Greater Boston Championships last week by 6 ft.

Sullivan also bettered his winning effort over last week's contest. He leaped 6 ft. 10 in. to take first in the high jump. Geoff Stiles, however, failed to repeat his G B C victory in the pole vault, missing at the opening height.

Murphy ran extremely well all day, winning the 1000, anchoring the victorious two-mile relay and racing to second in the mile at 4:08.6. "We should have run him in a few other events," McCurdy said.

Queen ruled Army with a 52-ft., 2-in. shotput for first place. According to McCurdy though, Queen was ill and the throw was not his best.

Kayali charged to first place in the triple jump with his best leap ever of 48 ft. 3 in. He competed with a fever and Harvard's cryptic coach quipped, "when you're hot you're hot."

Harvard stands at 3-2 for the indoor season and will host the Big Three meet next Saturday against Princeton and Yale. The new track facility will be dedicated officially at next weeks' contest and McCurdy claims there will be some "interesting" competition among a few former Harvard track stars.