Barcelona Bound

Let it never be said that Harvard is not an athletic powerhouse.

Harvard track and field team captain Nick Sweeney '91-'92 is only the latest Crimson athlete to qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Sweeney will compete for his native Ireland in the discuss.

The Eliot House resident qualified for the Olympics with a personal-best 205-foot toss at his training facility in northern California.

Sweeney is Harvard's first track and field Olympian since Sam Felton '48, who competed for the United States in the hammer throw in both the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.

Sweeney, currently training in northern California, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Harvard's top Olympic hopeful this year is track and field sprinter Meredith Rainey '90, who competes for the United States and is among the favorites in the 800-meter run.

Rainey won two NCAA titles in that event during her Harvard career. She was The Crimson's Athlete of the Year in 1990.

Other athletes on the Olympic team include rowers Jack Rusher '89 and Rich Kennelly '87. Former Harvard crew team member Norm Bellingham '93-'94 will join them, but as a kayaker. All three rowers will compete for the United States.

Awards Galore

The Harvard University Department of Athletics held its senior award banquet yesterday at the Bright Hockey Center.

Lacrosse and field hockey star Ceci Clark and swimmer Stephanie Wriede shared the top female athlete honors while squash wizard Jeremy Fraiberg was named best male athlete.

Clark also received the Mary C. Puget Prize, awarded annually to the student who has contributed the most to women's athletics.

All three recipients have long records of excellence in intercollegiate sports:

Fraiberg, who captured the individual intercollegiate national squash championship this season, was a three-time All-American and two-time Ivy Player of the Year.

Wriede was named the Eastern Women's Swimming League's Swimmer of the Year and earned Honorable Mention All-American honors in the 200 breaststroke at the NCAA championships.

Clark, a two-time co-captain of both the field hockey and lacrosse teams, was also an All-American and Ivy League Player of the Year in both sports.

Clark set a Harvard record in field hockey with 13 assists in her senior year.

Swimmer Don Bae was also honored last night as the top male scholar-athlete and triple-jumper Rita Raju was honored as Harvard's top female scholar-athlete.