Thinclads to Kick Off GBCs at B. C.

Northeastern's head track coach Irwin Cohen spoke for all the area coaches yesterday when he said "Out of the 365 days in the year, they couldn't have picked a worse one for the Greater Boston Championships (GBCs).

The GBCs, which kick off this afternoon at Boston College, fall smack in the middle of the heaviest track week for most of the northeast's schools, and Harvard is no exception. The Crimson thinclads, having just completed back-to-back victories over Princeton and Yale, will still have to compete in Friday's Penn relays after today's rigorous contest.

Besides the scheduling conflicts, Northeastern should pose the biggest obstacle for Harvard's city title hopes. The Huskies topped the Crimson 60-58 in a disputed dual meet contest early in the year, and they have the talent to undercut Harvard's heavy field advantage.

But Cohen hinted yesterday that many of the top Huskie performers won't be in the GBC lineup today. "With this weather we've had a lot of injuries, and we will just have to see how cold it is before I know who will be running," he said.

The Huskie coach also said that among other Northeastern stars, top area hammer artist Don Dgerasee won't participate in the city games but will be saved for the Penn relays. Dgerasse's absence should give Harvard's Steve Niemi and Jay Hughes a good shot at finishing one-two in the hammer event.

Dangerous

However, the Huskies still have the dangerous Len Rao in the discus and shotput, and the indoor GBC two mile champ, Mike Buckley in the mile and three mile. Harvard's long distance man Ric Rojas, spared heavy competition in Tuesday's Yale confrontation, will be expected to renew his season-long rivalry with the fleet-footed Buckley. This series of Rojas-Buckley match-ups began with a Rojas triumph at the wire in their first indoor mile claim last January. Since then Buckley has notched two decisive victories over Harvard's senior distance man.

Boston College will most likely display its showcase miler, Keith Francis, on its tartin track today. Francis, undefeated in spring mile competition so far, must be rated the favorite in any mile or half-mile encounter.

But in the other events, especially the jumping and vaulting contests, the Crimson should be in for some ho-hum victories. Aside from Northeastern and possibly Boston College, few of the other area teams offer much competition for the Harvard trackmen.

Tufts, MIT and Brandeis will be scrounging around for any crumbs that Harvard, Northeastern, or B.C. might happen to overlook, while Boston University will make its usual six-point bid for spring supremacy.

Harvard's biggest problem could be combatting the anticipation of Friday's Penn Relays. As Northeastern's Coach Cohen said yesterday, "the relays are like the world series of track." It is a shame that Boston's biggest meet would have to fall so close to the Philadelphia encounter.

Nevertheless, the Crimson's overall depth in the field events, and a few exceptional runners, should be enough for the Crimson to rule supreme over its Boston foes.