Thinclads Loaded With Depth

With two meets under their belts, the Harvard men's and women's indoor track teams are off to the races.

"There is a lot of depth in both teams," Assistant Coach Edward Sheehan said. "I think the men are much stronger on paper than last year with a group of juniors and seniors who have competed at a championship level."

On the men's side, the returners are led by Co-Captains Tim Harte and junior John Mee, who already qualified for the 400-meter dash for the IC4A meet in March during the squad's opening victory over Boston College.

"I would like to see the team be competitive in every meet," Mee said. "There has been an upswing in terms of talent, but there is a question of bringing it together."

Derrick Horner specializes in the 55- and 200-meter sprints and the long jump, and can also run the 400-meter dash. Last spring, Horner finished second in the 100-meter sprint at the Outdoor Championships. He also placed at last February's Heptagonal Championships.

"I'd like to make the finals in the IC4As this spring," Horner said. "But that will take a lot of effort."

With Mee now injured, Veneet "The Fleet" Gupta and Hiroshi Andrews will anchor Harvard's 400-meter corps.

Leading the men in the middle distance races are Eric Rahe and Chris Woodward. Rahe paced the Crimson in the 800-meter dash at the Harvard Invitational with a time of 1:54.1, while Woodward qualified for the IC4A 1000-meter run in the B.C. meet.

Sophomore Ed Rios and junior John Brzezinski spark Harvard in the field events. Rios soars in the high jump and runs the 55-meter hurdles.

"You can always count on Ed to score points no matter what," Mee said. "He's a solid contributor."

Score points is exactly what Rios did against Boston College, jumping to a personal high, 6 ft., 8 in., and finishing second.

Brzezinski, a varsity football defensive lineman, takes care of the duties in the 35-lb. weight toss and is assisted by freshman William Doyle.

Sophomore Dean Lufkin, who specializes in the triple jump, finished first against B.C. with a distance of 46ft. 7 in.

Meredith

Despite all this talent on the men's team, the best performer on either squad might be Meredith Rainey.

"The women have a very strong team this year," Sheehan said. "They could go far."

Led by the reigning 800-meter NCAA champion and All-America selection, the women should be able to match their second-place finish in last year's Heptagonal Championship. Rainey already has qualified for the NCAAs in the 800 with a time of 2:06.8 at the Harvard Invitational.

"Personally, I would like to win the NCAAs in March," Rainey said. "As a team, I would like us to be contenders at the Heptagonals, with a finish no lower than third."

Co-Captain Beth Pfefferle, who finished third in the 800-meter in the NCAAs, also provides valuable points.

The Pack

Other runners include Senzeni Steingruber and Wanita Lopeter at the 400-meter slot. Running the long distances are All-America Suzanne Jones, cross-country finalist Joanne Dushay, and ECAC qualifier Rachel Lewis.

Catherine Griffin leads the women in the field events. Griffin set two records at the invitational in the shot put and the 20-lb. weight. Her 46-ft., 7-1/4-in. throw was good enough to earn her a spot in Harvard's record books as the longest women's shot put ever.

"The women have a serious chance of winning it all," Mee said. "The men are looking to surprise."