Weakened Crimson Harriers Place Third in NYC

A weakened Harvard cross country squad placed third yesterday in the 35th Annual Heptagonal Games at Van Courtland Park, New York.

With Crimson Captain Ric Rojas dropping out after the two-mile mark, and Jerry Hines sidelined with an ankle injury, Harvard lacked the numbers to upset strong-running Pennsylvania.

The cold-weakened Rojas gave way to Quaker runner David Merrick, who led the field with a 24:32 time. The Penn star outdistanced Navy's Jeff Kramer, by a 30 second margin. Midshipman Steven Gilmore rounded out the top three, coming in at 25:17.

Crimson thinclad Jimmy Keefe galloped to eighth position. in 25:34. Harvard's Jeff Brokaw finished 13th in 25:48 followed by teammate Andy Campbell, 16th, at 25:51.

Keefe and Brokaw ran a strong race, breaking away early at the starting line. But Campbell started slow and didn't catch up until late in the race.

Harvard Coach Bill McCurdy was impressed by the shorthanded Crimson effort. "It was sort of an upset. We came in thinking we might have a good shot at fourth," he said.

Without Rojas's potential point power, McCurdy admitted, "We were sort of messing around, battling it out with Princeton and Cornell."

Nevertheless, the Crimson topped Ivy rivals Columbia and Princeton overall. Harvard garnered 89 total points to the Lion's 139 and Tiger's 164. The victorious Quakers finished with 29 points, while Navy gained 49.

McCurdy held what he termed "a minor victory celebration," last night. He said, however, that he was disappointed because Rojas did not have a crack at the top thinclad field.

McCurdy said last night he wished Rojas had had an opportunity "to get some revenge" against Cornell's Ray Demarco. Demarco has dealt Rojas his only loss of the season so far.

The strong showing on the five mile course placed Harvard number two in the Ivies. The Crimson harriers will have a chance to secure a spot in the first division Thursday when they meet Yale and Princeton at Boston's Franklin Park.