Crimson Splits Pair With Mean, Green Harriers

In a couple of hours Saturday. Harvard's high-flying cross-country teams met the toughest tests of their seasons to date.

While both squads came up with strong showings on the Franklin Park course in Dorchester, only the still-undefeated Crimson women's team managed a victory over its powerful green-clad opponents. The men now 5-1, fell four points and two seconds short of tying Dartmouth's favored harriers.

Women's Coach Dennis Cochran Fikes said he was "surprised at the ease with which we were able to take the first three places," thereby locking up the 25-32 victory against a team that was considered tops in the Ivy League. "The girls ran a very satisfying, very tough race," he added.

Junior Kathy Good, breaking the tape for the first time this season, led the front-running trio. Good, in 17 18, was followed by Kate Wiley (17:25) and Lois Brommer (17:32). In seventh place was Miriam Keltz (17:48), and rounding out the scoring for the Crimson was Leslie Cooper (18:22).

The win gives Harvard a definite boost as it prepares for the Heptagonals, the highlight of the league season. But, says Fikes, "We will have to battle again with Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton and Cornell."

Harvard's men's team also took encouragement from Saturday's meet despite their loss.

"We were more than four-point underdogs going into the race, but now we know they are very beatable," said Co-Captain Felix Rippy. So, the 26-30 Big Green victory still marked a strong showing by Harvard against a team considered to be head and shoulders above it.

Dartmouth All-American Jim Sapienza won the race in 29:25, with Harvard sophomore Paul Gompers finishing 11 seconds later Other Crimson scorers were Andy Gerkin in fifth place (30:18), Peter Jelley in sixth (30:37), Rippy in eighth (31:04), and Cliff Sheehan (31:04). Shawn O'Neil finished as Dartmouth's fourth scorer just one second ahead of Rippy and Sheehan: if the Crimson pair had been ahead, the meet would have ended in a 30-30 deadlock.

Co-Captain Paul McNultry said that "though, of course, we are disappointed, we have nothing to be ashamed of. This loss is just going to make us that much hungrier."

Basically the season boils down to the Heptagonals--set for October 28 in New York City--and McNulty promises his squad will fare better against the Big Green then.

The Crimson proved in defeat that they are virtually on Dartmouth's level. Also, the harriers' style of running in a pack should be helpful in the Heps. Says Rippy, "We showed that our teams are about equal and the Heps will be a roll of the dice."

THE NOTEBOOK: The next big test for both teams is Friday when they travel to Princeton to take on Yale and the Tigers.