Track Tunes Up for Heps in H-Y-Ps

The Harvard men's and women's track teams will take on their archrivals this weekend in the much-anticipated Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet at Gordon Track Center.

This is the biggest meet of the season so far and will serve as the last tune-up before the Heptagonal Championships at Dartmouth Feb. 26 and 27.

Men

The Crimson men face what is probably the best Ivy League team in Princeton. The senior class has never beaten the Tigers in an indoor meet, and this is their last chance to do so.

"We have lost to Princeton indoors for the past three years," senior Cabral Williams said. "And that angers me."

Princeton is a strong team with a lot of depth, and Harvard must work hard to win in as many individual events as possible.

Junior Ed Baker and senior Dave Martin are expected to lead Harvard in the distance runs, with Baker running the 3000-meter and Martin the 5000-meter.

Captain Dominic Patillo should lead Harvard in the 800-meter, and sophomores John Cinelli and John Traugott should be in front in the 1000-meter. An injury will keep co-captain Darren Dinneen out of the meet.

Three sophomores--Kobie Fuller, Osahon Omoregie, and Nnamdi Okike-- have been outstanding for the Crimson this season. They will try to continue their success in the 200-meter, 400-meter, 500-meter, respectively, as well as in the 4X400-meter relay.

"To do really well, we need these guys to not just place, but to win their events," Dinneen said.

In the 60-meter dash, the usually unbeatable junior Chuck Nwokocha will be counted on to win.

The throws will be a particularly tough event for Harvard, as Princeton has John Denbo, the best shot-putter in the Ivy League, who outthrows his competition by three feet. Harvard will look to junior John Kraay, one of the top shot-putters in the league last year, to score in that event.

If the Crimson can stay competitive against strong performers like Denbo, it will have a chance to put away the Tigers at the end of the meet.

"If it comes down to the relays at the end of the meet," Williams said, "I like our chances of winning outright."

One advantage in Harvard's favor is that the meet will be in Cambridge.

"There is a lot of pride in this meet, especially since it's at our facility," Dinneen said. "Our guys have been improving steadily over the last couple weeks and we're looking strong in practice. This is our first big test and I think we will surprise a lot of people this weekend."

Women

Like in the men's meet, the Harvard women are most concerned with Princeton in their final preparation for Heps.

"We cannot overlook Yale and Princeton," co-captain Kristy Johnson said. "Just two years ago, Princeton won both indoor and outdoor Heps. They have experience on their side."

The Crimson will count on three athletes to lead the team on Saturday. Junior co-captain Brenda Taylor has been exceptional all season and is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation in the 400-meter dash.

As usual, junior Dora Gyorffy will be expected to win the high jump.

Junior Mary Unsworth needs to put in a dominating performance in the mile, as her best time this season is 15 seconds faster than the best Yale and Princeton runners. Unsworth will run the 800-meter as well.

Sophomore Nicky Grant has been performing well in the weight throw and in the shot put. Two weeks ago, she broke the school record in the weight throw. Grant will have a competitive event, however, as she faces Melanie Harris, the only thrower in the Ivy League who has outdistanced her this season.

"Thus far we have shown we are a very good team, but we have yet to show exactly how good we are," Johnson said.