Kleiger Sets New Harvard Pole-Vault Mark; Juniors Give Trackmen Victory Over Maine

A record-setting performance in the pole-vault by junior Jim Kleiger highlighted a busy weekend for the Harvard track team.

Harvard sent three entires to the Maryland Invitational Friday night and its mile relay team of two freshmen and two juniors captured a fifth place in the College Division On Saturday Harvard crunched the University of Maine, 76-42, at the Bubble.

Kleiger made 16 ft. 4.25 in, on his first attempt at the height against Maine, to break his own Harvard record of 16 ft. 1.25 in. Kleiger missed narrowly at the next height, 16 ft. 8 in. Kleiger expects to go over 17 feet this year.

Crimson coach Bill McCurdy shuffled his running aces Saturday and still got his fifth win of the year without a defeat. McCurdy put distance men in the middle-distance races and middle distance runners in the 600.

Harvard completely outclasses Maine in the 1000, mile and two-mile jaunts, picking up 36 of a possible 27 points.

Junior Rie Rojas led Harvard to a sweep in the mile with a 4:12.6, then came back to win the 1000 in 2:15.1. Rojas also ran a leg on the victorious two mile relay team.

Rojas had his second good meet in a row after beginning the indoor season with a series of lacklustre races. Rojas attributed his improvement to two weeks of high-altitude training in New Mexico during Christmas vacation. Rojas time bettered his previous best mile-time at Harvard by about two seconds.

At the Maryland Invitational Harvard's two-mile relay got off to a solid start with freshman Bill Ockermann running a fast 1:54.5 second leg, but than John Quick dropped the baton, removing Harvard from the race and depriving anchorman Boy Clayton of a chance to show his speed.

Hickman--Harvard's third entry at the Invitational--ran a respectable 7.3 in the high harders but was outclassed by a field including Olympic gold-medalist Rod Milburn. Hickman's 7.3 did not get him into the finals.

Besides Embree in the high jump against Maine and Ockermann in the two-mile relay at the Invitational, several other Harvard freshmen performed strongly over the weekend. On Saturday freshman Wayne Curtis finished second in the 400 and freshman Bill Durrette came in third in the two-mile. At the invitational freshman Joel Peters ran the fastest leg of Harvard's mile-relay team.