Bruins Wallop Women Harriers

The Harvard women's cross country team was beaten by Brown on Saturday for the first time since coach Ed Sheehan can remember--and some may wonder whether the dynasty that has claimed the women's Heptagonal league championship for the past five years has come to an end.

Brown won the meet with an overall score of 22 points, while Harvard (55) took second and Northeastern (63) finished third. Brown's Donna Petrovsich raced to first place in 17:53 on Harvard's five-kilometer home course at Franklin Park.

Finishing first for the Crimson was sophomore Toby Warden. Warden took fifth place overall in the meet with a time of 18:35. Captain Allison Keller (18:56) followed in 11th place, with the freshman pack of Lise Vansen, Tina Lount, Michelle Sang, Rammi Resni and Eva Klohnen close on Keller's heels.

Despite Harvard's so-so performance Saturday, there are several reasons why the Crimson women should be contenders for the Heptagonal championships next month.

For starters, three of Harvard's top four runners did not compete this weekend. With standouts Jodi Dushay, Katie Toner and Merrideth Green back in the ranks by the Heps, Harvard's team performance should show definite improvement.

Following the race, Klohnen said, "It's hard to go out fast when your top runners aren't competing--we weren't that confident."

Harvard Coach Ed Sheehan also believes that one more month of race experience will greatly benefit his young team. On the average, five of the Crimson's top seven runners this year have been freshmen. Sheehan emphasized that "the talent is there but the experience is not."

"We ran well in a pack but we need to move the pack up," Keller declared. Sheehan also would like to see Harvard's pack move up by 45 seconds--and is confident that this improvement will come by the time the Crimson women face the field of Ivy Leagers at the end of the month.

"This is the start of a another cycle for the women," Sheehan said. "With this new group of people I think we will see the dynasty continue."

Despite their loss to Brown, the harriers feel confident in their ability to go out aggressively at the Heps. Yardling Lount, whose time Saturday was slower than it had been in a previous race at Franklin Park, said with a smile following the Brown-Northeastern meet, "If that's the worst I can feel in a race, then I'm happy."