Crimson Harriers Cop First 11 Places

The cross country team swept the first 11 places against Cornell Saturday in the most awesome display of power in Harvard harrier history.

Doug Hardin lopped 58 seconds off the old Franklin Park course record in leading the long, long parade of crimson tee-shirts to a 15-50 victory. Hardin's main competition, Gordon McKusick, pulled up lame in the middle of the 5.5-mile race and dropped out.

McKusick and Hardin were both unbeaten going into Saturday's race, and the duel was supposed to be a preview of the Heptagonal championship at the end of the season. Running hard and neck-and-neck, the two sophomores clicked off a 4:40 opening mile and a 4:45 second mile. McKusick, who had never even been challenged in any of his races up to that time, was hard-pressed to hold the pace. He took a severe leg cramp after three miles, and Hardin just breezed in from there.

Hardin must have thought the whole Cornell team was lost. The first Big Red harrier crossed the finish line three and a half minutes after he did.

Harvard's Bob Stempson, ailing all year, finally lived up to pre-season expectations. He placed second in 28:24--only 28 seconds off the old course record.

Tim McLoone, another sophomore, took third. McLoone has improved rapidly after a slow start this season. Like Hardin, he'll be around for a long time. Jim Smith finished fourth in 29:00, and captain Jim Baker rounded out the scoring for the Crimson. Baker's showing will be especially heartening to Harvard coach Bill McCurdy since the lanky senior's troublesome ankle has been hurting his performance.

The next six Crimson harriers included three sophomores -- Frank Sulloway, Bruce Jones, and Pete Denchy. Dick Howe, who nearly missed the meet because of a bad cold, finished seventh.

Harvard runners have had a hard time all year breaking up the opposition's secondary. Against Cornell the job they did was ridiculous. Judah Chester took 12th for the Redmen, but the Crimson's last man, Wes Williams, was just 17 seconds behind him. The rest of the Cornell team trotted home dejectedly after Williams.

The freshman harriers continued to show good depth and front-running power against Cornell. The 24-31 score was a little tighter than the varsity race, but Harvard took three of the first four places and there was never any doubt who would win.

Keith Colburn and Roy Shaw hit the tape simultaneously in 16:14 to shatter Shaw's old record over the 3.1-mile course by 34 seconds. The Crimson's John Heyburn finished fourth, also under the old mark.

The baby Johns now boast a 5-1 record, losing only the opener to Providence.