Track Finishes Middle of Pack in Final Meet

The Harvard men's indoor track team proved to be overly gracious hosts during the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4As) Indoor Track Championships, which were held this past weekend at the Gordon Track Center.

In the meet, the Crimson accommodated its competition, scoring in just one event and finishing in an eight-way tie for 36th place.

The women's team, meanwhile, fared somewhat better at the ECAC Championships at Northeastern University, claiming 14th place in a field of 46 teams.

Harvard Men

Overall, it was a lackluster weekend for the six-man Crimson contingent in the 79th annual IC4As Championship.

The Crimson (4-2, 2-2 Ivy), which placed ninth in last weekend's Heptagonal Championships, finished in the middle of the pack of a crowded field of 56 teams.

Harvard junior Arthur Fergusson accounted for all of the Crimson's scoring, placing third in the triple jump.

Fergusson leaped 15.49 meters, finishing behind Georgetown junior Nathan Rollins (15.99 m) and Cornell senior J.P. Pollak (15.73 m).

The rest of the Crimson squad, however, failed to even qualify for the final rounds of their respective events.

In the 60-meter dash, Harvard junior Chuck Nwokocha finished third in his preliminary heat, but placed seventh in the semi-finals with a time of 7.07 seconds.

He had needed to finish in the top four to advance.

Sophomore Kobie Fuller finished his qualifying heat in the 400-meter run with a mark of 49.11 seconds.

His time, however, was good only for fourth place--not enough to move into the final round.

Co-captain Dominic Patillo also missed out on the finals, claiming fourth place in his preliminary race in the 800-meter run.

In the shot put, junior John Craay placed fifth in his preliminary flight with a throw of 16.01 meters.

"I missed the finals by three centimeters," Craay said. "I felt like I could have placed in the top four or five."

For those individuals who have not qualified to participate in next week's NCAA Championships, this weekend's event was the last competition for the Crimson until the start of the spring outdoor schedule.

"It's frustrating, especially since we have so long now to think about it," Craay said. "We've got a lot to work on before outdoor season."

Harvard Women

Fresh off its first place showing in last week's Heptagonal Championships, the Crimson was represented by four competitors in this weekend's ECAC meet.

Two of them--juniors Brenda Taylor and Marna Schutte-- scored points.

In the 400-meter run, Taylor (54.33 sec) and Schutte (56.24 sec) finished second and seventh, respectively, garnering ten of the Crimson's 16 total points.

Taylor, who won three events a week ago, placed third in this weekend's 60-meter high hurdles event with a mark of 8.39 seconds.

Overall, she accounted for fourteen of Harvard's sixteen points. Still, Taylor said she was slightly displeased that she had failed to better her previous times in those two events.

"I was a little disappointed because I had entered the weekend with high expectations," Taylor said.

As a team, Harvard finished second among Ivy League squads.

Dartmouth, which scored 19.50 points, placed eleventh.

"Coming off of the Heptagonals Championship, this was somewhat anti-climactic," said Taylor. "Each of us was mostly looking to improve our own individual times."

Of the four Harvard representatives, only freshman thrower Jill Kornetsky was able to turn in a personal best performance.

Kornetsky's throw of 16.24 meters earned her seventh place in her flight and 14th place overall.

Crimson sophomore Nikki Grant also competed in the weight throw, finishing 16th with a mark of 15.79 meters.

Grant had placed second in that event in last weekend's Heptagonal Championships.