Thinclads Humbled

The Harvard men's track team finished in a tie for 17th place in the 66th annual Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Indoor Championships (IC4A) Saturday and yesterday at the Gordon Track and Tennis Facility.

Penn State won the 68-school meet with 53 total points, edging Villanova which accumulated 52 points.

This year marked the first time that Harvard which registered 12 points to the meet--hosted the IC4As, and most said they were pleased with Gordon Track.

"I hope it's the first of many," Harvard Coach Frank Haggerty said of the Harvard-hosted meet. "The facilities are great. Everyone comes into this meet looking to qualify for the nationals, and on this track they can do it."

Seven track records, six IC4A records and one collegiate indoor record set during the meet attest to the track's quality.

Rob Muzzio of George Mason set a new collegiate indoor record in the pentathlon by accumulating 4224 points.

A new Harvard record was also set, as junior James Russell placed second in the 35-lb. hammer throw. Russell's throw of 19.73 meters broke a 26-year-old school mark.

"I'm particularly happy for him, since he broke the record in front of the home crowd," Haggerty said.

Haggerty also said that Russell had predicted he would break the mark before the season began.

Senior Paul Kent was the only other Harvard team member to place in an event. Kent took fourth in the one-mile run with a time of 4:03.55, just .01 seconds behind the third place finisher.

Kent's time qualified him for the NCAA championships in Oklahoma City next weekend. Russell and women's team Co-Captain Erin Sugrue have already qualified for nationals.

Next year's IC4A championships are scheduled to be held in Princeton, N.J., but Haggerty said that there will more championships at Gordon Center in the future.