Beckford Wins Title; Dixon Fifth

In the context of sports, the word "bittersweet" means having to take the good with the bad. After this weekend's performance the Harvard track team should know all about that.

The good news came from Darlene Beckford, who won the 800-meter race at the AIAW championships in Pocatello, Idaho, Saturday, establishing herself as the top female collegiate half-miler in the country and becoming the first-ever Ivy League All-American in women's track. Meanwhile, in Detroit, Adam Dixon, fresh from a 1500-meter victory at the IC4As the previous weekend, supplied the bad news in placing an anti-climactic fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Beckford and Dixon were the only Harvard representatives at the men's and women's respective championships, and both came home with All-American honors.

Breaking the tape at 2:05.75, Beckford set a new Ivy League record and in the process felled her old University record of 2:07.48. She trailed Joetta Clark of Tennessee for all but the final 60 meters, when the talented junior accelerated past her surprised rival.

Every Man for Himself

Beckford got a break when she escaped unscathed from some jostling which occurred in rounding the first turn. Two of the five runners took tumbles during the struggling for position, and one did not finish the race.

Unfortunately for Harvard, the breaks went against Dixon in Detroit. Hampered by painful blisters on his left foot and a board 11-lap track with tight turns. Dixon clocked 4:03.97--two seconds off the winning time.

Bllsters

Describing his fifth-place finish as "pretty disappointing." Dixon said yesterday his blisters affected his training more than his running in the actual race. The junior held fifth position the whole race, but his highly respected finishing kick, which has become somewhat of a Dixonian trademark, never materialized.

Close, But...

Dixon's time was only half a second slower than his lifetime best but two weekends ago he ran the 1500 meters at the IC4As at a four-minute clip. In that race, Dixon beat Saturday's third-place finisher Louis Ostolozaga.

THE NOTEBOOK: The top six finishers in the mile at the NCAAs received All-American status, including Georgetown's olympian John Gregorek in sixth place...The rivalry between Beckford and Clark dates back several years to when the two competed in the national junior championships.