Tracksters Outrun Eagles; Dixon Records Two Wins

Despite the absence of All-American distance runner John Murphy and long jumper Gus Udo, the Crimson track team transformed Saturday's expected squeaker against Boston College into a rout, flying past the grounded Eagles 81 1/3-54 2/3 at the ITT.

Once again, Adam Dixon led the parade, winning the 600 (1:11.8) and the 1000 (2:12.58), and coming from behind in the anchor leg of the two-mile relay to notch another victory. Noel Scidmore also copped three places, finishing second to Thad McNulty in the mile (4:11.3), third in the 1000 (2:15.89) and also running a relay leg.

While coach Bill McCurdy expected these performances, the unexpected once again turned the meet into a laugher. For the second consecutive week, the Crimson caputed two places in the pole vault, proving that although Dave Randall (first with 12-ft 6 in.) and Greg Froehlich (tied for third with 11 ft.) aren't Geoff Stiles, nobody else around here is, either.

The surprising Chuck Johnson easily outclassed the field in the hurdles (7.82, electronically timed). He has singlehandedly transformed an event considered a preseason question mark into a midseason strength.

Jim Johnson (22 ft. 7 3/4 in.) in the long jump) and Shawn Hall (45 ft. 8 in. in the triple jump) once again won their horizontal events, helping compensate for a dearth of vertical jumpers.

And just as they did in last week's romp over Brown, the thinclads showcased their depth. Sixteen runners scored points as the Crimson copped two places in every running event except the 880 and swept the relays, proving that even without Murphy--who suffered from a sore throat and Udo, injured foot--the team can come through with enough points to hang tough in just about any meet.

"Boston College was a team that could take advantage of our weaknesses, but we pulled through," McCurdy said after the meet. "All in all, I'm pleased--we've made definite progress."

The thinclads raced to an early lead when McNulty, the newly-elected senior class First Marshal, and Scidmore took one-two in the mile.

After Chuck Johnson won the hurdles (Aaron Dean taking third in his first varsity race), Jim Johnson and Ben Midlo placed first and second in the long jump. At the halfway mark in the meet, Harvard had yet to lose an event and owned a 49 1/3-20 2/3 lead.

In the second half of the meet, the Eagles presented a greater challenge, capturing five of the last eight events, including a sweep of the high jump.

The Crimson clinched the meet, however, when Eric Schuler and Bruce Weber finished two-three in the two-mile. The thinclads garnered the remaining points by winning both relays.

In other noteworthy performances, tricaptain Tom Lenz won the 35-lb. weight throw with a person high of 60 ft. 3 1/4 in. Dave Frim copped the 440 in 49.88, and Scott Murrer grabbed third in 51.52.

The thinclads do not see action again until January 12, when Northeastern visits the ITT. But according the McNulty, the layoff comes at a beneficial time.

"The break will give the guys time to get over their injuries," the tri-captain said Saturday, adding, "Hopefully, we'll be at full strength by then."