M. Thinclads Rush Past Huskies; W. Thinclads Do the Same Thing

Harvard's men's and women's track and field teams handily defeated crosstown rival Northeastern at the Gordon Track and Tennis Center Saturday.

Despite losing all but two of the field events, the men rebounded with strong running performances. Needing a victory in either of the final two relay events to clinch the meet, the Crimson won both to get past the Huskies.

Harvard senior John Brzezenski, a defensive tackle on the Harvard football team, took first place honors in the 35-1b. weight competition with a hurl of 56-ft. 11-in. Derrick Horner was the only other Crimson victor in field competition, winning the long jump with a leap of 7.17 meters.

In the running events, Harvard succumbed to the Huskies in only the 55-meter sprint, the 200, and the 3000. John Oakes captured the 1500, freshman Matthew Wachowicz took first place in the 55-meter hurdles, and sophomore Vineet Gupta topped the field in the 400.

"None of us expected good times because no one trained over break," Gupta said. "The team performed very well. The victory margin was wide."

Harvard was particularly strong in the middle distance events. Co-Captain John Mee won the 500 with a time of 1:04.15, while Eric Rahe captured the 800 in 1:55:36. The Crimson's Nicholas Arena posted a 2:28.41 mark to take the 1000.

The Harvard foursome of Mee, Gupta, Derek Riddick, and Hiroshi Andrews narrowly defeated its Northeastern opponent by three-tenths of a second in the mile relay to clinch the meet.

In women's action, the Crimson dominated from start to finish, losing only two events en route to a 91-22 victory.

The Northeastern squad competing in the meet was far from its strongest, as many of the best Huskie athletes were competing in the Dartmouth relays held the same day. In addition, the Harvard squad was in full force, as several Harvard athletes had used the winter break to recuperate from nagging injuries.

No wonder the Crimson's steady performance turned the dual meet into outright domination.

"Everyone did really well," Sophomore thrower Catherine Griffen said. "We were expecting the meet to be a lot closer than it was."

Griffen, the Harvard record holder in the shot put and 20-lb. weight, took first place honors in both events. Teammate Christine Roberge was also a two-event winner, capturing both the long jump and high jump. Rita Raju completed the Crimson sweep of the Huskies in the field events, topping the field in the triple jump with a mark of 11.26 meters.

Maggs earned her first collegiate victory in the 1500, while senior Romney Resney won the 3000. Senior Co-Captain Meredith Rainey won the 400 in 57.25, while classmate Beth Pfefferle captured the 800.

THE NOTEBOOK: The men's and women's squads hope to continue their winning ways Saturday when they both travel to West Point to take on the Army Cadets.