Harriers Face a Green Monster

Last Friday at Pine Manor College in Brookline, the Dartmouth men's cross country team showed why it is the second-ranked squad in the nation.

At the same time, the Harvard women's cross-country team showed why it is in the top three in the East.

In what has come to sound like a broken record this season, the Crimson split its races with the Big Green, as the men were trampled by a superior Dartmouth team, 15-49, while the women out-distanced their counterparts from Hanover, 24-33.

In the men's race, Dartmouth placed its runners in each of the first six places before Harvard's first runner, sophomore Jon Lewis, crossed the line with a time of 26:43--57 seconds behind winner Michael Donaghu of the Green.

"I think they deserve to be number two [in the country]," said Harvard men's Captain Brian Cann. "We were all between 20 seconds and 1 1/2 minutes faster [than two weeks ago against Brown/Northeastern] and they still crushed us...but we just didn't let them win."

But despite the disappointing performance, the men's team is still looking forward to racing Yale in New Haven next weekend.

"We ran really well. It showed that we're fitter than two or three weeks ago," Cann said.

On the women's side, Harvard placed three runners in the top four to beat the Big Green.

Julie Grialou placed first in the race with a time of 18:30, while Lise Vansen took third and Tina Lount fourth.

"Dartmouth was better than we expected them to be," said Harvard women's Captain Katie Toner.

The Crimson was upset by Dartmouth last year, but by placing seven runners in the top 11 places, the women harriers were able to pull out the race.

"They had a few frontrunners, but what helped us was the depth of our team," Toner said. "Everyone counts in this kind of race."