Thinclads Run Wild to Capture GBCs

No one can remember when Harvard track last won a Greater Boston championship outdoors. Yesterday began inauspiciously, a cold, damp afternoon at B.C., when the thinclads started winning and never stopped, piled up 97 points to B.U.'s 72, and won the meet.

The tracksters got off to a fast start by winning three of the first four events. Tricaptain "T" Lenze again broke his school record in the hammer throw, set two weeks ago, with a toss of 212 ft. 4 in. Freshman Gus Udo did more than his share in the field events, taking first in the long jump and second in the triple jump.

One of the highpoints of the afternoon came next in the 400-meter sprint relay. The foursome of Joe Salvo, Marc Chapus, Kim Stephens and Peter Nsiash edged out B.U. by an eyebrow, setting a new school record of 41.5 seconds in the process.

Kim Stephens was a one-man show, as he fought off B.U.'s foreign imports to win the 440 intermediate hurdles in 53 seconds flat, took another first in the sprint relay, placed second in the 1600 relay and fifth in the 110 high hurdles. Gutsy Andy Regan came from behind to win the steeplechase while B.C.'s treacherous water jump turned the race into a swimathon for some. (Are all Reagans front-runners?)

Another Yardling, Eric "Monster" Schuler, trailed Northeastern's Troy Billings for 13 laps in the 5000-meter race, then calmly left him in the dust to win in 14:25.4, a new meet record.

The familiar stride of Adam Dixon was a welcome sight in the 800-meter event. Dixon ignited the crowd by resting in dead last until the gun lap, when like a vision of Dave Wottle, he switched into high gear and accelerated all the way to the finish line with another meet record, 1:50.9.

As the meet drifted back over to the field events, Harvard continued to rack up victories. Junior Dave Randall struggled into the stadium carrying about eight different poles, one of which must have been the right one as he soared 14 ft. 6 in. to capture first in the pole vault. Teammate Jim Mullen contributed a first-place finish in the javelin.

Crimson hurdler Lance Miller, who's been out with an early season injury, was back in the blocks for the 440 intermediate hurdles with a gleaming bald head, shaved except for two small Hs above his ears in honor of the meet. Having not trained for several weeks, Miller came in a respectable fourth, but was somewhat skeptical about the effects of his shave: "I don't think it helped all that much," said Miller.

When the meet was over and the long-delayed rains finally broke loose, some of the jubilant tracksters decided to run the route home from B.C. They apparently hadn't had enough running that day.

Harvard will travel to Philadelphia for the Heptagonals next weekend, and after the GBCs, they're beginning to think they can win it all.