Cadets Throttle Crimson, But Patterson Still Shines

WEST POINT, N. Y. - Question: When can 83-53 and 81-19 losses be considered good news?

Answer: When you're talking about Saturday's meeting between the Harvard and Army men's and women's indoor track teams.

Though the Cadets had little trouble running over the visiting Crimson thinclads, drubbing the men by 30 points and the women by over 60. The Harvard performances, particularly that of the men's squad, bode well for the rest of the season.

For the Harvard track squads only one meet really matters-February's Heptagonal Championship; everything else is just a warm-up.

So the Crimson entered the Carelton Crowell Memorial Track here Saturday, with most of its distance corps still resting after a grucling cross-country season, not looking for victories but rather a chance to assess itself.

One of the brightest spots of the afternoon came at the very start of the meet, which began once the Army-Navy football game concluded and the radio blaring the play-by-play was turned off.

The 35-lb. Weight throw, one of the areas the men's squad was hoping to improve in, was the first event. The crowd of about 50, made up mostly of parents of Harvard thinclads, gathered outside the throwing area.

The object of all the attention was Irishman James Russel, who not only won the event, but set a personal record with a loss of 55-ft.,8-in. Not bad considering it was the first collegiate competition the red-headed freshman has ever seen.

"My legs were jelly going into the circle," the Crimson freshman said in his heavy Irish accent.

Another good omen for the Crimson's men's team was the performance of Mark Henry, who was competing for Harvard for the first time in over a year. The versatile senior showed that he hadn't lost a thing during his time off, winning the long jump, the triple jump and the 55-meter dash.

While all three of his victories were decisive. Henry was most pleased with his performance in the hop, skip and jump competition.

"I felt pretty good," he said. "During my year off I had competed a little in the long jump and the dash, but suprisingly the event I did the best in was the one I didn't compete in during the year off the triple jump."

Though the men lost more heart breakers in the 400, 500 and the 1600 relay, there didn't seem to be any weaknesses that some practicing and rested distance runners couldn't solve.

For the women the prognosis is a little more complicated. The only member of the squad to have a truly stellar afternoon was Co-Captain Mariquita Patterson who won the 55-m hurdles, finished third in the long jump and ran in both relays.

Debuts

Saturday marked the debut of quite a number of freshmen sprinters. Yardlings Dele Fayemi, Colleen Collins and Mary Rakie did not fare that well against Cadets Kathy Harrison. Marilyn Gibbs and Michelle Collins. The trio of Crimson freshmen took only a third and a fourth in the 55 and 200 meter sprints.

But Patterson wasn't discouraged by the team's performance. "I'm excited to have a full sprinting corps," she says. "It feels good to have people starting with good habits. They have a lot of potential and they'll help each other. We can only get better."

The thinclads' home opener comes this Saturday when the Boston College Eagles invade the ITT. That meet should provide a more realistic view of what the squlids are capable of since both will be more polished and their distance corps will be competing.

THE NOTEBOOK: Quite a few parents of team members from the New York and New Jersey area made the journey to West Point to see the meet including the Sheehans, Pattersons, Boyds, Henrys and Nagles...Senior 35-lb. rosser Bob Madsen set a personal record with a throw of 49-ft., 10-in. though he was edged out of third place on the last throw of the competiton by three inches.