About Track and Tigers

At the beginning of the indoor track season, coach Bill McCurdy did not predict any great achievements for his squad. Even after a 94-18 romp over B.U. in the season opener, McCurdy was still cautious.

"I tend to be pessimistic," McCurdy said at the time, "because of our late start and the Christmas vacation." McCurdy paused, though, and with a twinkle in his eye added, "But I tend to be optimistic, too."

Since that time, McCurdy's team has responded to his hint of optimism by defeating Brown, BC, and Northeastern, winning the Greater Boston Championships (GBCs) and downing Army last week with a victory in the final race. The squad's dual meet record stands at a surprising 5-0.

Perhaps the biggest test of the season for the Crimson will come this afternoon, when the thinclads take on a mediocre Yale team and a strong, undefeated Princeton squad at the Tigers' Jadwin Gymnasium.

The meet should boil down to a tough, close battle between Harvard and Princeton, with Yale deciding some of the points along the way. "When you match up the previous scores, it looks pretty well balanced," McCurdy said Thursday.

To make the outlook for the contest even more intense, Princeton is hot--the Tigers own an 8-0 dual meet record. This year's Princeton squad "is perhaps the best team they've had since I've been here," McCurdy said.

Given the pre-season cautiousness, though, how did the buildup of today's confrontation between the Crimson and the strong Tigers occur? How has Harvard managed to stay unbeaten in six meets against tough opposition?

For one thing, McCurdy says, "Some of the guys--like [Jim] Springate, [Jeff] Campbell and [Wayne] Curtis--have developed throughout the season, and some freshmen, like John Chafee and Scott Dolson, have been contributing."

Springate gave the Crimson its win over Army with a blazing 1:53.0 anchor leg in the final event, the two-mile relay; Campbell, who joined the team only after exams, was a double-winner against the Cadets, taking the mile in 4:12.3 and the 1000 in 2:13.4; and Curtis, Chafee and Dolson have been stellar in the relay.

Freshman two-miler Pete Fitzsimmons, who has lowered his time from 9:27 to around the nine-minute mark, did not expect the team to go this far undefeated at the start of the season. "We had a guarded optimism," he comments, "but it's turned out that our depth has been a big factor in our strong performance."

There's more to the Crimson's success than just personal improvement or depth, however. "The spirit this year has been fantastic," according to Bill Okerman, a strong miler who's out for the rest of the indoor season with an injured Achilles tendon. "We have a team that's going out there and just pouring it on," McCurdy comments.

"The team came together and said, hey, listen, we want some things," explains Mel Embree, senior tri-captain and the team's best high jumper. According to Todd Hooks, the Crimson's star sprinter, "We pretty much knew we could stay undefeated after the GBCs."

Whether or not Harvard remains undefeated will depend on a number of key matchups today. "We'll have to scramble a little bit in the running races, and try to make up for it in the field events," McCurdy says.

The field events will feature a showdown in the 35-lb. weight throw between Harvard's Ed Ajootian and Dan Jiggetts and Princeton's Gene Mancino--three of the best throwers in the East. Although all three have thrown in the low 60s, Ajootian feels "the best is yet to come--I can still do a lot more."

Embree, who has been leaping 6-10 consistently, should win the high jump with no problem, but the long jump, triple jump and pole vault promise to be close.

Crimson freshman Geoff Stiles pole vaulted 15 feet in practice Wednesday, but he will run up against Tiger Dan Williges, who has surpassed 15 feet in competition. Ahmed and Hasan Kayli will face Princeton's Tom Fink in the triple jump, and Hunt Block will have some tough Princeton competition in the long jump.

Hooks and tri-captain Sam Butler represent the Crimson's hopes in the sprints, where both Princeton and Yale look strong--Yale's Harry Davidson has run a 7.3 60-yd. hurdles. "We're all pretty much at the same time," Hooks explains, "and it'll just be who's at the tape."

Even if the Crimson does well in the field events, it will still have to contend with Princeton's forte--middle-distance running.

Tri-captain Joel Peters has run the 600 in 1:11.9, but so has Tiger Chuck Hedrick. Princeton sensation Craig Masback should win the 100 and the mile (best time, 4:06), although Springate and Campbell should give him a run for the money in both. In the two-mile, Fitzsimmons has to face Yale's Dan Schlesinger (best time, 8:57) as well as some strong Princeton competition.

Harvard's last two dual meets, against Northeastern and Army, have been decided by the Crimson's strong relay teams--but Princeton's relay times are among the best in the country.

According to McCurdy's calculations, "the thing balances up all the way down the line." McCurdy said Thursday that for Harvard to win the meet, "Somewhere along the line, somebody's going to have to do something he hasn't done yet." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "We think it'll be us."