M., W. Track and Field Poised for Heptagonals

To say that Harvard track has the ball rolling would be a great understatement. After the Penn Relays, perhaps snowballing would be more accurate.

With a strong outing at the Penn Relays this past weekend behind them, the Harvard men's and women's track teams have their eyes locked on Ivy League supremacy this weekend at the May 1 Outdoor Heptagonal Championships held at Columbia University (Heps).

Serving as the Ivy League Track Championship, Heps will pit Harvard's finest track and field athletes against the cream of the Ivy League crop.

In the month of April, Harvard has showcased a balanced attack of strong sprints to go along with powerful field events. Battling injury all season, the men's field events now appear ready to go.

In what appears to be emerging as a neck-and-neck race for the men's javelin championship, sophomore Chris Clever will attempt to repeat his victory over Princeton's Rob Manning on Saturday.

"Manning beat me at Heps last year, but I threw well enough to beat him last week at the Penn Relays," Clever said. "The competition with him is giving me a good incentive to throw well this weekend."

Plagued with injury of late, Clever has been rehabbing his elbow to put him in position for a good throwing day. In last week's effort, Clever placed fourth.

"My elbow is a little bit sore, but I was able to get in six throws last week." Clever said. "The meet competition helps you get ready more than anything."

Further bolstering the field events, sophomore Arthur Fergusson will use the momentum from his season-best performance against Yale in the long jump and triple jump to help out the Crimson at Heps. Also fending off injury, Fergusson looks to rebound this weekend.

"I did not compete at the Penn Relays, but I'm feeling good now," Fergusson said. "I just injured the inner, upper part of my thigh. The outdoor season is so short that you have to recover fast."

Sophomore John Kraay also looks to place high in the shot-put for the Crimson.

"As it stands, I'm in the top three or four in shot. The throwers in general are looking pretty good. Once you get out there, though, it's anybody's game."

Anybody's, of course, except whoever happens to be running against Harvard in the 4x400 women's sprint relay this weekend. After blowing the Harvard record out of the water at Penn Relays, the relay team of co-captain Heather Hanson, sophomore Brenda Taylor, senior Lee Shearer, and sophomore Marna Schutte will make a go at the Heps record.

After finishing up .13 of a second off Brown's Heps record of 3:42.71, Hanson believes that Harvard can get over the edge.

"We just seem to keep getting faster and faster," Hanson said. "Right now, it's getting to be more and more about fine-tuning. I run the starting leg, and it's important to have a good start and good exchanges."

"We just need to do a little more strategizing," Hanson added. "I would look for us to win again. Princeton and Cornell are still very solid and getting stronger, but I'm confident."

Adding to the momentum, the women's 4x800 team ran their season-best race last week as well.

Co-captain Joe Ciollo also remains optimistic about the Crimson's chances over the weekend, despite the strength of perennial powerhouses Princeton and Navy. Currently ranked fourth in the 400 meter dash, Ciollo will compete in that event, the 4x400 relay, and the 4x100 relay.

"From a team perspective, could be very difficult to get one of the top spots in the league," Ciollo said. "Third or fourth is very realistic. Princeton and Navy are very strong, and right now we don't have the same type of depth that they've shown. We do, however, expect to compete and have many who will do well individually."

One individual whom the Crimson can expect to perform quite well at Heps is sophomore high jumper Dora Gyorffy. Less than one week removed from her second-place finish in Philadelphia, the nation's No. 2 ranked high jumper should dominate competition at Heptagonals.

Two other runners will try to top their personal bests the same week in which they were set. Sophomore Brenda Taylor shattered her own school record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 59.49, and senior Scott Muoio will also try to improve on a personal best in the steeplechase of 8:59.39.

For Harvard men and women's track, all of the personal bests and school records appear to be falling at just the right time. Peaking late in the season as planned, Harvard could be poised to upset several unsuspecting teams at Heptagonals.

Come Saturday, the Crimson will have every opportunity to amplify the noise they have made in the Ivy League thus far.