Men's Track Bows

PRINCETON, N.J.--This past Saturday, the Harvard men's track team arrived at Jadwin Gym in Princeton, N.J. to compete in the annual triangular Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet.

This prestigious meet generally serves as an opportunity for the team to gear up and apply the finishing touches to its preparation before the Heptagonal Championships, scheduled for the end of February.

After this weekend, however, the team will need to seriously re-evaluate and heed what Captain Amar Kuchinad termed "a wake-up call."

Harvard anticipated heavy opposition from Princeton, one of the chief contenders for the Ivy League title.

But the Crimson expected to beat Yale, a much weaker team, with a strong overall showing. However, when the final scores were tallied, the Crimson was left disappointed.

The team scored 31 points to Yale's 36 and Princeton's outstanding 102. None of the Harvard runners made the finals in the 55 meter dash or in the 55 m. hurdles. None scored in the long jump, and none competed in the triple jump.

Despite these severe weaknesses, team members contributed some good performances. Among them was senior Terrence Mann, a high-jumper returning from injury, who won by clearing the bar at 6'9". Junior Killian Lonergan placed first in the 3000 m. in 8:23.36. Other good performances were Ian Carswell's 4:04.77 in the mile, a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA championships. Ken Hughes qualified for the IC4As throwing 52'9.25" in the shot put. Darin Shearer's double in the mile and the 1000 meters added to the team's scoring total.

It seems hard to find reasons for the team's poor showing. The Crimson lacks depth as opposed to both Yale and Princeton. But, as Ian Carswell notes, this is a reason for people to "step up mentally."

Another factor could have been the absence of a warm-up the night before the meet, as the team arrived in Princeton fairly late. This warm-up would have been useful for jumpers and sprinters to adjust to the track surface, practice their timing and their rhythm.

Obviously, the team is dissatisfied with its performance. "We were not pushing ourselves to the limit," long jumper Husani Barnwell said.

"No one really had their best day. Everyone was kind of mediocre," Mann said.

The positive consequence of this meet is the team's adjustment in attitude. Everyone seems determined to use the next two weeks until the Heptagonal Championships to work harder.

"We'll be ready by Heps," Mann said. "Better to have a bad day today than in a couple of weeks."