Track Varsity to Enter Heptagonal Meet Today

The varsity track squad will try to end a generally disappointing season with a final flourish in the Heptagonal Track Meet today and tonight at Cornell. The Crimson will be hard pressed to finish higher than fourth in the ten-team Heptagonals, however, since no varsity performer is a clear-cut favorite in any of the 11 events.

Two-miler Dyke Benjamin, out with a painful leg injury for most of the winter, will return to action tonight in a courageous attempt to aid the Crimson cause. In winning the mile against B.U. Dec. 13, Benjamin incurred a stress fracture in his lower leg that kept him out of commission until early February, when he began jogging outdoors.

After two weeks of trotting through mud and slush in football shoes, he entered the Triangulars at Yale on Feb. 14 against a strong field. Although little was expected of him after only two weeks of training, Benjamin refused to give up and finished second to Eli John Morrison in a miraculous 9:28.9.

Joel Landau, the Crimson's ace hurdler, would have been the favorite in his event a week ago. But Landau has been having trouble with his form, and last week in the IC4A meet he was eliminated in the semifinals. The eventual winner in the IC4A, sophomore Angelo Sinisi of Brown, could finish first if Landau slips, and Keith Moore of Yale, the 1957 champion, will also be a threat.

In the most star-studded event of the evening, the 1000, the varsity's Art Cahn will have to improve even to place. Tommy Carroll, the Yale sophomore who turned in a 1:54 leg in the two-mile relay three weeks ago, is a prohibitive favorite, and defending titlist Ed Slowik could give the Elis a one-two sweep.

Jed Fitzgerald could win the mile run, although he will have to beat Cornell's Chuck Hill to do it. If Sandy Dodge's leg holds out, he is the equal of everyone in the dash except Yale's Steve Snyder.

As for the field events, Jim Doty in the weight throw and Tom Blodgett in the pole vault are the Crimson's best bets for high finishes. Hank Abbot has a chance to score in the shot, and the jumps are anybody's guess.

In short, it will take spirit like Dyke Benjamin's and a superlative effort by the entire team to put the Crimson in a contending position today, and such a combination is not an impossible occurrence.