Men Take Home Heptagonal Trophy; Women Are Runners-Up to Princeton

Maybe it's just beginner's luck--though more likely a tribute to the revamped Harvard track program. Whatever the reason, Prank Haggerty, in his first year as director of the Harvard track squads, has attained almost every goal he set for his teams at the outset of the year.

From the very start, Haggerty geared his program towards winning the indoor and outdoor Heptagonals, the only meets in which all the Ivy track squads compete with one another. This winter the men's squad brought home a Heptagonal trophy for the first time in 12 years, while the women finished second to Princeton by only two points.

This weekend in Ithaca, N.Y. the Crimson thinclads repeated their winter performances, with the men unseating the defending champion Princeton while the Crimson women were runners-up to their Tiger counterparts. Despite the second place finish, Harvard's Jenny Stricker, who won the 1500 with a time of 4.33,17 and the 3000 with a meet and track record of 9:32:89, was named the women's outstanding performer, a distinction the had also earned in the indoor version.

Haggerty's strategy of resting some of his runners last weekend at the Greater Boston Championships paid off. Stricker ran only in the GBC relay, while Adam Dixon and Cliff Sheehan, who finished first and second in the 1500 at Cornell did not compete at all in the GBC's.

Dixon, who has been outstanding all spring, running a sub-four minute mile in the distance relay at the Penn Relays, took the 1500 by almost two seconds. Dixon was also the first runner to cross the finish line in the 800, but he was boxed in early in the race, had to pass on the inside and ended up running on the infield for a few steps, and so was disqualified. The first place honors went to the perennial 800 Heps champ. Army's Cardell Williams. The Crimson's Brad Bunney was right behind him, though, and insured the second place points for Harvard

Harvard had a one two finish in the long jump when senior Jimmy Johnson won the event with a leap of 23-ft., 9-in., and Co-Captain Gus Udo finished right behind him. For an encore Udo took the triple jump, with teammates Mark Henry and Shown Hall finishing third and fourth respectively.

Senior Dwayne Jones won his first Hepts gonal event by capturing the 200 after a third place finish in the 400 Sophomore Steve Ezeji-Okoye won the 110 high hurdles and finished second in the 400 hurdles.

The only other first place finisher besides Sticker for the women was Grace De Frites, who won the 800 with a time of 2 16 12. There were, however, quite a few Crimson thinclads in the top five Sophomore Kate Wiley took second in the grueling 5000, with teammate Kathy Good right behind her Wiley was also third in the 1500. Maria Accacia took fifth in the shotput, while Theresa Moore was fourth in the 100 meter dash

Although a few of the Harvard track members who qualified for the ICAAs will compete next weekend, the Heptagonals was the last team competition until the thinclads head to England this summer. For now all the team has to worry about is how best to savor its fine performance at the Heptagonals