Embree Sets New Mark

For all you Harvard chauvinists, here's an authentic pre-meet notice-board exhortation, posted at Dillon Field House this week, that belongs among the Before-the-Yale-Game sporting classics:

"Listen, just because Yale couldn't beat us if we were a rug and they had a stick is no reason whatsoever to let down. Seems to me that the day and the meet are just right for running fast and jumping high...Let's kick this small dog, in a gentlemanly fashion, dead in the behind."

Well, the day, which was sunny, and the meet, which was a laugher, were just right for flexing muscles: Harvard's undefeated track team thrashed a hapless Yale squad yesterday, 114-40, in sundrenched Soldiers.

As if a beautiful day and a victory over Yale weren't enough, tri-captain Mel Embree gave the two dozen fans present at the stadium even more to cheer about, leaping 7 ft. 2 in. to qualify for upcoming Olympic trials.

The leap also established new meet, stadium, and University outdoor records. Embree also broke his own mark of 7 ft. 1 1/2 in. set last spring in the Heptagonal championships.

"My form was off today," Embree said after the record-setting jump. "So I think I'm ready for 7 ft. 3 in." Embree will face the challenge of matching that mark in a star-studded field at the Penn Relays this Saturday in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.

Yale, which hasn't beaten the Crimson since 1963, discovered in the first event yesterday that the Elis were in for a long day. Ed Ajootian opened Harvard's scoring auspiciously, setting meet and stadium records in the hammer throw. His heave of 196 ft. 3 in. broke the previous record of 196 ft. even set in 1961 by Harvard's Stan Poten.

In other weight events, Kevin McCafferty led a Harvard sweep of the shotput with a throw of 50 ft. 4 1/2 in. Freshman Gary Quantock and Mitch Witten took a second and third, respectively.

Joe Pellagrini threw a personal best of 154 ft. 9 in. in the discus, but that wasn't enough to top Yale's Brian Wood, who tossed 158 ft. 6 in. Another of Harvard's crew of talented freshmen, Mike Clark, placed third.

Freshmen Mike Kinney and Mike Stewart accounted for Harvard's scoring in the javelin, Kinney winning with a throw of 218 ft. 9 in. and Stewart taking third.

Senior Hunt Block--who, according to assistant coach Ed Stowell "came out of nowhere this year"--had a big day too. Block won the long jump with 22 ft. 8 in. and placed second in the pole vault behind Geoff Stiles. Stiles soared 14 ft. 6 in.

Hassan Kayali, the triple-jump star who normally shares the limelight with his brother Ahmed, had center stage all to himself yesterday. With his older sibling sidelined by a cold, Hassan won the triple jump with a leap of 45 ft. 7 in.

Domination

Harvard dominated the running events as well. Dependable distance runner Jeff Campbell was a double victor, winning the mile in 4:23.4. He also breezed though the 880 in 1:58.4.

Sprinter Todd Hooks also won twice, taking the 100-yd. dash in 10.1 and blazing the 220 in 22.4 Earlier he anchored the winning 440 relay.

Yesterday's resounding victory over the Bulldogs marks the track team's 15th straight victory--a winning streak that includes an undefeated 6-0 indoor season and stretches back to last April's Princeton meet. The team's 5-0 so far this season, and now all that stands between Harvard and another undefeated dual-meet season is a match-up with the tough Army squad next month.