M., W. Individual Stars Impress at Tufts, St. John's

The Harvard men's and women's track teams celebrated the individual this past weekend.

Four men and sophomore Brenda Taylor traveled to New York City for the St. John's University Twilight Meet.

Five women made the scenic trip to Medford for New England Championships at Tufts.

Harvard collected three first places in the meets, which were not team-scored.

The highlight of the weekend was junior Darren Dinneen's performance in the 800-meter at St. John's.

Dinneen won the event in a blistering 1:48.69, a time that qualified him provisionally for the NCAA championships next month.

Dinneen, who came to Harvard ranked No. 2 among high school runners in his event, has battled injuries for two years. Now, finally healthy, he has shown the type of ability that made him such a prized recruit.

Saturday's time was his personal best and was his fastest time since high school.

"He finally reached a stretch where he can train consistently," co-captain Joe Ciollo said. "He ran a great race and made the competition look silly."

The Crimson's other winner in New York was sophomore Brenda Taylor, the only woman to make the trip.

Running her pet event, the 400-meter hurdles, Taylor reeled off a 59.36-second performance.

Senior Scott Muoio ran a personal-best 14:33 in the 5000-meter to take fourth, and junior Dave Martin's 9:11 3000-meter steeplechase gave him third.

Ciollo finished fifth in the 400-meter at 48.45 seconds.

The meet combined many of the top regional schools, including UConn, which Ciollo called the "best team in New England."

The four men who went south did so in lieu of a trip north to the men's New England Championships at the University of Maine-Orono.

"It was difficult for us to travel and find accommodations in Orono, Maine," Ciollo said. "It's the first time we've gone to this meet, and the competition was just as good and easy to get to."

Ciollo said he was not overly impressed with the surroundings, however.

"Queens is definitely not one of the most famous boroughs," he said. "Except for L.L. Cool J, they don't have much there."

Digs on Queens aside, the weekend was fairly successful.

"A few of our star athletes were able to perform very well, but people showed they're still not in peaking form," Ciollo said. "People's best performances have yet to come, and next weekend [at IC4A Championships] is a good opportunity to do our best against best in East."

Of the five women who traveled to Tufts, freshman Carrie McGraw led the way. McGraw finished first in the 400-hurdles and ran her best time of the season.

"I guess it was a good race because I got to run really relaxed since I was pretty much out in front," said McGraw, who ran a 61.37. "It was also bad that I wasn't pushed."

"I'm really happy, though, because this season has been kind of tough. I was coming into a new program, and everything so different. I finally feel I'm adjusted," she added.

Sophomore Marna Schutte ran what she termed a "respectable" 56.4 to take second in the 400-meter, and senior Lee Shearer was a spot behind at 56.8 seconds.

"We did pretty well and there were some solid performances," Schutte said. "Some people are going on to ECACs, but for most, it's the end of season for a little while as we do finals. It was good to run against people outside the Ivy League and good to see that we compared well to other schools in New England."

Senior Caroline Johnston finished fifth in the discus. She was seeded No. 1 entering the meet.

Co-captain Heather Hanson, who has been troubled by a recurring hamstring injury, finished eighth in the 100-meter.

The women who don't have to cope with finals will compete at ECAC Championships next weekend, held at George Mason University along with IC4As.

Fairfax, Va., isn't as convenient Queens or Medford, but at least it isn't Orono.