Crimson Harriers Trounce Bruins, Take Eleven of Top Twelve Spots

It was back to business as usual for the Crimson harriers as they came off last weekend's debacle at Van Courtland Park to thoroughly and almost totally smash Brown, 15-48, yesterday at Franklin Park.

The only blemish to cross the line among the top ten was the Bruin's top man, Brian Thomas. He managed to finish sixth. Other than that, it was all Harvard.

Indeed, Thomas was supposed to be good if not great, but coach Bill McCurdy saw through all of Brown's promotional build-up before the contest, stating that he is "not one I would put in the class of (Ric) Rojas or (Jim) Keefe." He should have including Andy Campbell, Jerry Hines and surprising freshman Jeff Campbell in that class as well.

Rojas kept his record intact, having finished first in every meet this season, but this time he let some of his teammates share in the glory. Crossing with him, arm in arm, were both Andy Campbell and Jim Keefe. Their time wasn't exactly blazing, 27:21 over a minute off the Franklin Park course record, but it was all that the squad needed and more.

The finish was supposed to be a dead heat between the trio of Rojas, Andy Campbell and Keffe, but the judges gave the win to Campbell by a step, "I was standing about 100 yards from the finish," McCurdy recalls, "And I yelled out to Andy to take an extra step at the finish and get the win. They all looked at each other and as Andy crossed he must have made the right move."

Somewhat of a surprise was Jerry Hines finishing fourth. Hines, a senior, had a series of interuptions throughout his cross country career at Harvard. "He was one of the longshots we hoped to see something from," McCurdy said, "At least we know he's still alive."

Jeff Campbell, a good freshman prospect, crossed the line after Hines, having run a solid race. Campbell ran well in the Penn-Columbia meet and set a course record in Wednesday's freshman meet at Andover.

Following Brown's Thomas, finishing sixth, came the rest of the Harvard eleven: Dick Skinner, Karl Tsigdinos, Jim Springate, Bill Muller, Fred Linsk and Bill Okerman. McCurdy withdrew Jeff Brokaw before the meet because of a minor injury.

McCurdy's enthusiasm about the rout was somewhat tempered after the meet. "It was not as resounding a win as it seems. They (Brown of course) really weren't that good," That, perhaps, is an understatement.

Slow Pace

The pace of the race was far slower than anything that the harriers had experienced in this yet early season. "It wasn't one of those paces that blew you out, like last weekend's meet," McCurdy said. The winning time was 27:21, over a minute off the course record set by Rojas. It must have seemed like a leisurely stroll through the park.