Track Has Ups and Downs at Heps

Coming off of an undefeated 6-0 record in the Ivy League, the Harvard women's track team had high hopes for the Heptagonal Championships held at Cornell University last weekend.

And they did not disappoint, finishing in third place, with a total of 74 points, not far behind the top two teams, Brown and Princeton.

However, the Harvard men's track team, boasting a 5-1 record on the season, did not fare as well. Wracked with injuries and mishaps, the Crimson placed sixth out of nine teams, tallying 56 points on the weekend.

Despite falling to Ivy League rivals Brown and Princeton, who accumulated 107.33 points and 98 points respectively, the Crimson ran away with a number of key wins, exceeding its expectations for the Ivy League Championships.

"We had a great chance to perform this weekend," said sophomore high-jumper Dora Gyorffy. "We were ready to compete, and we did really well."

Gyorffy herself stole the spotlight, claiming the prestigious title of Women's Outstanding Heptagonals Performer by claiming two gold medal victories in the meet.

Beginning with the triple jump, Gyorffy overtook Cornell's Danielle Brown for the top position, jumping a distance of 41-3.

Yet Gyorffy's most impressive performance was yet to come. Setting both an Ivy League record, as well as a Heptagonals record, Gyorffy notched a first-place win in the high jump with a leap of 6-1 1/5. Brown's Emily Owens, the second-place finisher, was out-jumped by almost four inches.

"I won the triple jump in a big competition, as well as the high jump," Gyorffy said. "I tied my personal record in the triple jump, and set an indoor personal record for the high jump."

Gyorffy's performances weren't the only bright spots on the night. Sophomore Brenda Taylor claimed victory in the 55-meter hurdles, blazing through the tape with a time of 8.04 seconds.

Taylor also scored points for Harvard in both the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter run. She turned in a respectable 25.28 seconds in the 200-meters and a time of 56.88 seconds in the 400-meters, good enough for a third-place finish in both.

Sophomore Marna Schutte ran away with the gold in the 400-meter run, picking up the top spot in 56.32 seconds.

Co-captain Heather Hanson turned in a fifth-place finish in the 55-meter dash, and was right behind Taylor with fourth place in the 200-meter dash, coming across the line in 25.48 seconds.

The Crimson fared just as well in the relay events, placing first in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:46.72, and notching a third-place finish in the 4x800 meter relay.

Unfortunately, for the fifth time in six years, the Princeton Tigers captured the Ivy League Title in the men's competition.

The Crimson passed only Penn, Cornell and Yale, to a disappointing sixth-place finish overall.

Harvard was unable to capture a first-place finish in any event, but did notch a number of respectable performances on the weekend.

"We had a lot of bad breaks and good breaks," said co-captain Joe Ciollo. "It balanced out, and gave us a mediocre finish."

Ciollo finished in second place with a time of 1:04.58 in the 500-meter run, falling to Yale's Donald Carson by only eleven-hundredths of second.

"The race was disappointing. I was the top seed for the race, and I was the big favorite to win," Ciollo said. "I've run faster than that on five different occasions. But it was a typical upset."

Harvard was plagued by a handful of injuries, costing the team a number of key points.

"We were missing a couple of guys, including Darren Dineen, one of the best 1000-meter runners in the league," Ciollo said. "And Dave Grimm had a season-ending back injury that cost us in the 35-pound weight throw."

Chuck Nowokocha finished first in the 55-meter dash in the semifinals, However, he pulled his hamstring in the process, keeping him from competing in the finals.

Despite the injuries, the remaining Harvard runners stepped it up to score much needed points through the rest of the meet.

Senior Scott Muoio picked up a pair of great finishes, notching third place in the 3000-meter run in 8:19.49, as well as a silver medal finish in the 5000-meter run with a time of 14:36.48.

Arthur Fergusson helped out the field athletes, placing second in both the long jump, with a distance of 23-8 3/4, and in the triple jump, at 48-10 3/4.

Dominic Patillo contributed a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter run, and Kevin Worrell captured fourth place as well, with a time of 6.56 seconds in the 55-meter dash.

The 4x400 meter relay, an event that Harvard expected to perform well in, did not pan out for the Crimson. A fall at the beginning of the second leg of the relay kept the Crimson, seeded second in the event, from contention. But the 4x800 meter relay team redeemed Harvard with a fourth-place finish.

Both teams are looking toward the New England Invitational, held at Boston University this weekend. Gyorffy and others will look to notch personal bests, and the men to redeem their mediocre finish.