Crimson Harriers Sweep Greater Boston Meets

"The Herd is the word," chanted the Harvard Harriers as they clinched the men's Greater Boston Championship for the first time since 1973, beating out archrival Northeastern for the title at Franklin Park yesterday afternoon.

Led by senior Peter Fitzsimmons, who finished second at 29:09 behind the Huskies' all-American, Bruce Bickford, the Crimson accumulated only 33 points to Northeastern's 55.

Two other seniors, Ed Sheehan and Mark Meyer, along with sophomore John Murphy, grabbed the fourth, fifth, and sixth slots, respectively. Harvard's final scorer, Thad McNulty, came home in the 16th position.

The race started off at a fast pace, with Bickford barely waiting for the gun to sound before making his move and claiming the lead. The Harvard trio of Meyer, Sheehan, and Murphy claimed the three, four and five spots through the one-mile mark, splitting at 4:33.

In the second two miles, Fitzsimmons worked his way through the hoi polloi to join his teammates, and the four blasted ahead of their competition to give the Herd an insurmountable advantage.

This pack ran together for the next two miles until Fitzie broke loose at the four-mile point, while the rest of the bunch spread out, moving into their final alignment.

Murphy kicked with a quarter mile left to successfully ward off a late challenge from Garland and Wilson, and the Harvard victory was secure.

"It was a super win for us," coach Bill McCurdy said. "How often is it that three seniors put it all together like this in their last year-- As far as Fitzie's great running...well, the real Fitzsimmons is just now standing up."

The Herd's next outing is Friday against Dartmouth, way up in New Hampshire, and the team is seeking revenge. "We want to beat them -- badly," said Fitzsimmons. "They have embarassed us for the last three years, and they like to rub our noses in it," he added.

Last year, Dartmouth fans sported buttons that bragged of a Big Green sweep and at the end of the race, the top Dartmouth finishers unfurled a school banner, waving it as they crossed the tape.

"We see green blood," said captain Meyer. "We don't want to just beat them, we want to massacre them."