Relay Snaps Record

Harvard track coach Bill McCurdy put together a dream two-mile relay team and turned it loose against the best in the East Saturday night in the Knights of Columbus Games.

The squad turned in a fantastic time of 7:33.6 to shatter the old University record by 6.9 seconds. But it lost. And it lost badly to a mighty Fordham team, whose 7:30.6 clocking eclipsed Villanova's old K of C mark by nearly two seconds.

Jeff Huvelle, running for the first time since the Army meet, led off the squad by running a 1:55.2 leg, even with his Fordham opponent. Jim Baker took the baton next and ran a 1:52.0 half-mile, the best of the four.

But Baker lost yardage to Jim Gorak, and Dave McKelvey lost a little more in the third slot. Anchor-man Trey Burns started way behind and just had no chance to catch the leader. Burns had a lot left when he finished his 1:53.0 leg 30 yards behind Fordham.

Still, the performance was amazing. The Crimson quartet whipped track powers Villanova and Manhattan.

Harvard's only victory of the night came in the freshman mile relay. John Dugan ran a great first lap to gain a lead that the other three runners--Tom Downer, Roy Shaw, and Keith Colburn--just widened.

Steve Schoonover cleared 14 ft. 6 in. in the pole vault, but it was only good for fifth place. The winning jump was 16 ft., by Mel Hein. The University record-holder set the bar a little too far forward on his third attempt at 15 and missed because of it.

Wayne Anderson won his semifinal heat in the 50-yd. dash in the fine time of :05.4. But after a few controversial false starts in the finals, the Crimson captain was caught in the blocks and wound up out of the money.

Sensational Bill Gaines, a high school junior from Mullica Hill, N.J., won in :05.2, equalling Frank Budd's meet record.

Charlie Ajootian placed third in the shot with a heave of 51 ft. 2 in. Jim Baker was second in the collegiate mile at 4:15.6. And Dave McKelvey was third in the collegiate 500 in :58.7.

Chris Pardee, who high-jumped for Harvard last year and who now attends Oxford, placed third in the jump behind Olympian John Thomas and high-schooler Stanley Albright. The winning height was 7 ft. Pardee, now on vacation, cleared 6 ft. 10 in.