Ailing Harriers Seek Revival; Face Penn, Lions in Tri-Meet

The Harvard cross-country team is taking its variety of aches, bruises, colds and other assorted ailments to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx for this afternoon's tri-meet with Penn and Columbia.

Perhaps the team's greatest malady consists of its 0-3 record, one which will probably not be cured by today's dose of Quakers and Lions. The former is currently riding an 18-meet win streak, while the latter is coming off its best IC4A finish in 23 years.

Not to make matters worse or anything, but Captain Bill Okerman is just now shaking off a cold, and by mistake, he shook it in the direction of Jeff Campbell. Bill Kraus, who had to be carried into the locker room after Tuesday's massacre with a muscle injury, didn't even make the trip, and Brian Finn still has a nagging toe with which to contend. All of which explains why the harriers have been tuning in to General Hospital recently.

No White Flags

As for the opposition, there are no white flags on the horizon. "it's a similar situation to the past," Coach Bill McCurdy said yesterday. "Penn and Columbia are both strong, but Penn, the scourge of the league, is the team to beat."

The Quakers are already 2-0 this fall, and, with juniors Bruce Fiori and John Clarke and sophomore Steve Sholtes leading the way, they should have little difficulty in repeating last year's double victory.

Columbia will be relying somewhat on inexperience, as only three lettermen populate their roster. Unfortunately for the Crimson, though, one of those returnees in junior Paul Heck, an All-Ivy selection a year ago who is one of tow Lions ever to have qualified for the NCAA's.

All is not bleak, however. For one thing, there is still hope. "We've been through two hard tests thus far," McCurdy said. "If we can recover from our injuries and nagging little colds, we'll be all right."

The Best Teacher

And, even if the harriers fail to recover by this afternoon, they still will have benefitted from some much-needed experience. "We're going down there with inexperience and enthusiasm," McCurdy said, "and that's a lot better than experience and no enthusiasm, which is not fun." McCurdy thought for a moment. "But winning is fun, isn't it?"