Mediocre Heps for Track

Fortunately for the Harvard track teams, the drive home from the Heptagonal Championships in Providence, R.I. lasted about an hour.

After the women's team finished sixth and the men's team finished ninth in the 10-team league finale, anything longer would have been tough to stomach.

"It was a pretty bit letdown for us," men's Co-Captain Rob Failla said.

"We had hoped to, do better," women's Co-Captain Debbie Boyle said.

Both squads suffered from a lack of team depth, which, despite some strong individual performances on both sides, eventually sunk the Crimson's hopes.

On The Women's Side

The women finished sixth with 40 points, but did so with a squad of just 15 athletes. (In contrast, Brown--which won the meet with a Hepsrecord total of around 140 points, according to Boyle--fielded a team of over 30 athletes.)

Both Boyle and Co-Captain Alexia Cruz said that although team members turned in outstanding performances and many received invitations to the Eastern Championships next weekend, the points were hard to come by.

"It always hurts not to have depth," Boyle said. "It was very hard for us to tell what the other teams would do. We wanted to do well and we did, but the matchups weren't there for us."

Senior Stacy Cauldwell took home Harvard's only gold medal with her 141-foot javelin throw, good enough to clinch a spot at the Eastern Championships.

Harvard's 4x100 relay team of Cruz, junior Kristina Lynch, sophomore Shireen Boulos and Boyle took second place with a time of 48.1 seconds, and the Crimson's 4x400 relay team of Boulos, Lynch, Boyle and freshman Amanda Williams also finished second.

Lynch also took second in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 12.4 seconds, Boyle said. Freshman Heather MacLennan jumped 37 feet in the triple jump, good enough for third place.

"We're a small, young team," Cruz said. "We just work really hard to get points."

The women finished fifth at the indoor championships this winter.

On the Men's Side

The problem of team depth was even more acute on the men's team, Co-Captain Ron Failla said.

"We thought we were well-rounded, but although we have some stars, we just don't have the depth," Failla said.

Navy won the men's competition, totaling 130 points to Harvard's 32, according to Failla. Only Columbia finished further back.

Sophomore Brian Henry provided the biggest fireworks, running a Heps-record 1:48.21 in the 800-meter run, an NCAA provisional qualifying time.

Co-Captain Bill Doyle took home a silver with a 192-foot toss in the hammer throw and freshman Darin Shearer took third place in the 3000-meter steeplechase with the third-fastest Harvard time ever.

Freshman Terrence Mann also took fourth in the high jump, clearing 6' 8 3/4" to assist the Crimson cause.

While the meet may not have been a spectacular Crimson showcase, Failla pointed to the youth of the team as its future strength.

"We have a lot of freshmen and a good recruiting class," Failla said. "The good thing is that they're really, really dedicated to track."