Shaw Paces Harrier Win; Penn, Columbia Squashed

The Harvard cross country team ran circles around two Ivy League opponents at New York's Van Cortlandt Park yesterday. The Crimson harriers swept seven of the first eight places en route to a 16-47 rout of previously undefeated Penn and a perfect 15-50 victory over Columbia.

The outcome of the meet was decided long before the final mile. But it was the last ascent of Van Cortlandt's legendary Cemetery Hill that produced the coup de grace.

Penn's George Lokken had run a valiant race, staying close to Harvard pacesetter Royce Shaw for the first four miles. Throughout the race they were joined at the front by a succession of Harvard runners; first Doug Hardin, then Dave Pottetti, and finally Tom Spengler. Mid-way up the last hill, Lokken suddenly found himself surrounded by four opponents. When Spengler raced right past the leaders, his teammates joined him, leaving Lokken gasping in the dust.

Shaw Leads

As the Harvard foursome loped down the hill and onto the flat final stretch, Shaw sprinted into a commanding lead, followed by Pottetti, Hardin, and Spengler closely grouped behind. They finished in that order, a scant ten seconds separating the first from fourth.

All four broke the 26-minute barrier on the famous course which is also the site of the Heptagonal and IC4A meets. Only four other runners (and Hardin) in Harvard history had previously bettered this mark.

Penn's Lokken was fifth, ten seconds behind Spengler. He was followed across the line by a resurgent Keith Colburn, junior Erik Roth, and chunky Jon Enscoe.

Coach Bill McCurdy, resplendent in a baby-blue turtleneck, expressed satisfaction with his team's performance. Shaw, vowing not to shave until he loses, ran his string of victories to three in spite of his toughest competition to date: his three teammates. Pottetti appeared unhampered by his blisters in chalking up his best race to date.

Captain Hardin and sophomore Spengler ran their usual consistent races, recovering from mediocre starts to challenge at the finish. Colburn, Roth, and Enscoe all recorded personal bests for the five-mile course.

The freshman meet saw a complete reversal of the varsity results. Penn ace Julio Piazza smashed Dave Pottetti's meet record by more than forty seconds and led a 15-48 victory over the Crimson frosh.