Harriers to Meet UMass Today; Fitzgerald May Miss Encounter

With the status of its ace, Jed Fitzgerald, in doubt, the varsity cross country team will travel to Amherst today for a meet with a strong squad from the University of Massachusetts. UMass has a good group of above-average harriers, and the Crimson will need a top effort to defeat the Redmen.

Fitzgerald has a leg condition similar to shin splints, and experienced considerable difficulty in practice yesterday. Trainer Jim Fair said the leg could probably be taped so that Fitzgerald could compete this afternoon, but the Crimson ace and his coach, Bill McCurdy, must decide whether the risk involved is reasonable.

Fitzgerald's importance was demonstrated against Penn and Columbia last Friday when he turned in a fine secondplace performance to pace the varsity's victory.

UMass defeated the University of Connecticut and Boston University in its last meet, totaling 30 points against UConn's 40 and B.U.'s 64. The Redmen's best runner, Ralph Bushman, covered the four-mile course in 20:33, as UMass bunched five men close behind the two UConn leaders.

For the varsity, Fitzgerald and Mark Mullin are rated slightly beter than Bushman. To take the meet, however, the Crimson must break up the possible UMass domination of positions just below the top. Jack Benjamin, Ralph Perry, Don Kirkland, and Tony Field should be able to finish in the first ten. Kirkland, especially, may do well on the four and one-half mile UMass course, since the longer layouts at Franklin Park and New York placed a larger premium on endurance and experience.

Wes Hildreth, Bob Knapp, Greg Baldwin, Dick Slansky, and Nile Albright should challenge the front-runners, and captain Eddie Martin seems due for his best effort of the season.

Yardlings Should Win

In the freshman meet, the Yardlings should triumph. UMass' number one freshman, Dave Hasbrock, ran two and three-fourths miles against UConn and B.U. in a fair 15:02. The Crimson's Ed Hamlin should take first today, and Glen Rodgers, Jim Bonnar, and Tony Voorheis should provide ample support.