Harvard Harriers Burn Big Red, 25-30

Led by Buck Logan and Adam Dixon the Crimson Harriers gorged Cornell, 25-30, Saturday at Franklin Park.

Both Logan and Dixon slipped over the wet 6.2 mile course in personal bests, clocking times of 30:25 and 30:44 respectively.

"The greatest accomplishment of the meet was Logan didn't get lost," coach Bill McCurdy said yesterday, referring to last week's race against Brown, when Logan strayed from the path. Harvard prevailed over the Bruins, although the error cost Logan a shot at first place.

To make sure that no one followed in Logan's faulty footsteps, McCurdy appointed twelve j.v. runners to "Logan's Legion," positioning them at various points along the race to steer the runners in the correct direction.

As it turned out, Logan was so far ahead of the pack, he could have afforded to take a "scenic" route Saturday.

Accompanied by teammate Eric Schuller, Logan zipped through the first mile in 4:37--the fastest start initiated by the Crimson this season. Harvard runners Bruce Weber and Adam Dixon followed with the entire Cornell squad behind them.

At the two mile mark, Schuller began to fade as a week-long illness took its toll. Meanwhile, half-miler-turned-distance runner Adam Dixon began moving away from the Big Red.

By this point, Logan was all by himself and didn't find company until he met the finish line and first place in a happy reunion.

"Logan looked great," McCurdy said, adding that "Had he been pushed, I think he could have run even faster."

Dixon, however, met with some opposition at the halfway mark, which pushed his competitive spirit into over-drive as he flew by the Cornell runners to notch second.

Displaying his usual flair, Dixon sprinted into the finish line to complete "his first really really good cross country race," McCurdy said.

Two Cornell harriers reached the finish in 31:02 and 31:13 for third and fourth just ahead of Harvard's Felix Rippy, who came home in 31:23.

"Rippy has a hammer lock on being the third man," McCurdy said. "Regardless of who is first and second, he comes next."

Schuler and Weber rounded out the Crimson scoring, finishing in 31:46 and 31:48, respectively.

With a season record of 6-2 (3-1 in the league), the Crimson Harriers will focus on destroying B.U. at today's Greater Boston Championship.