All indications point to a close battle when the University track team meets M. I. T. on Technology Field Saturday afternoon. Last spring the Engineers lost to the Crimson by a score of 69-48, but it must be remembered in considering this year's meet that 18 of that margin of 21 points were scored by Gourdin alone and that he, together with such stars as Harwood, Krogness, O'Connell, and Tolbert, are no longer at Coach Bingham's call. Furthermore, last year's Freshman squad provided little material to make up for this loss, and the prospects for Saturday would be gloomy indeed if it were not for the fact that M. I. T. is in as difficult as situation.

Last spring Technology was able to take only four first places, and all of the winners, Bawden, Dandrow, MacMahon, and Spitz, are now ineligible for the team. Moreover the Tech yearlings last year were none too strong. As a result, the teams that will meet on Saturday seem to possess almost equal strength. What the Crimson has gained by the two meets on the spring trip is in part counter-balanced by the fact that the M. I. T. runners will hold the contest on their own field. To quote Mr. H. C. Pierce, captain of the 1920 Tech track team, "The meet will be so close that a stumble here, or a lucky jump there, will throw the meet to one college or the other".

M. I. T. Has Fast Dash Men

Tech has a trio of fast 100-yard dash men in Heap, Hayes, and Howlett. Howlett, probably the fastest of these, ran second only to Gourdin last year and is considered to be as fast if not faster this year. To offset him the University will have Chase, Evans, Hovey, and Wansker. Chase is the University's best bet in the 220-yard dash, but M. I. T. with Poole, Howlett, and W. L. Smith might easily take two places, possibly winning the event. Chapin would have been a logical point winner in this event, but he can not take part due to an old injury which will probably keep him out for the season. Wansker is the best man Coach Bingham has to help Chase, so under the conditions M. I. T. seems to have the edge in this event.

In the 440-yard run, Tech has in Gurney, Poole, Chittick, and W. L. Smith a quartet of runners which will probably be able to make a clean sweep of the nine points here. Each of them has done better than 51 seconds, but it is a question whether they can all duplicate the feat on Saturday so either Colt or Merrill may place. Merrill, however, is counted on for points in the 880-yard run and it is doubtful whether he will be able to handle both the quarter and half on the same day. Although no University men placed in the half mile of the triangular meet with the Navy and Virginia, the Crimson with Merrill, McCarthy, Newhall, and possibly Colt and Burke, should clean up here. The mile run, however, will be held first and it depends on the results whether Burke will try the half. If he does not and if Colt, after running the quarter, finds the pace too fast for him, either Gill or Snow is apt to get third place for the Institute.

University Good at Mile

Burke, best of the Crimson runners this year, is expected to win the mile while Sanborn, who took third in last year's meet should get second. Bennett ought to snatch third place, with Poor of Tech giving him some close competition.

In Flanders and Hendrle M. I. T. has a pair of two-milers who are expected to take the measure of Lund, Coach Bingham's best entry for the eight laps, Lund, however, has shown remarkable improvement since he burst into prominence by running second to Burke in the mile race at the spring handicap meet, and he may beat either or both of the Tech distance men.

Both hurdle races present at this time many uncertainties. In Hauers, Whitney, Fitts, and Thayer the University possesses a quartet of hurdlers who should take two out of the three places in both events. Whitney, who is still suffering from an injury received in the Navy meet, may possibly be unable to compete on Saturday. In the case Hauers should take first with Thayer battling Captain Chittick of Tech for second place. Fitts should capture the low hurdles with Thayer, Hauers, and Chittick again fighting for second; the last named being the ruling favorite. If Whitney is in condition to run, he should win the high, while last year's order of Fitts, Chittick, and Whitney may well be duplicated in the lows. In addition to Chittick, Amback in the high hurdles and King or Hershey in the lows are the best Tech possibilities.

The eligibility of Fitts makes a big difference in both the broad and high jumps. In the high-jump he is a consistent performer at 5 feet 9 inches and has done higher. In addition to Fitts, Coach Farrell will pin his faith to Morse, capable but erratic, who has done 5 feet 10 inches. Merrill is Tech's best man here with Greenough and Stanley having only bare possibilities of scoring. In the broad-jump too, Fitts is a likely point- winner but except for him this event presents a large field of mediocre ability. Dipple, Prescott, and Heap of Tech, and Thayer, Wansker, and Merrill of the University all seem to have about the same ability. Jenkins, however, could be counted on for Crimson points, but it is doubtful if he can get away from the baseball game Saturday for a long enough period to jump in the track meet.

Crimson Has Advantage in Weights

The pole-vault and shot-put are both more promising from the Crimson point of view than the jumps. Coach Farrell hopes to have Davis, his premier vaulter, in good condition and if this is the case the University should clinch five points. The consensus of opinion would give second place to Sheldon of M. I. T., but Gratwick has shown great improvement this year, winning the event in the triangular meet with a vault of 11 feet 6 inches. Reidy, moreover, has cleared 11 feet and may possibly give Sheldon or Gratwick a hard struggle. In the shot-put, too, Captain Brown, Clark, and Saxton form a trio that appear, from results this spring, to surpass Blatter and Dexter, Tech's best entries, so the University may score a clean sweep in this event. Brown should win the hammer-throw too, although his frequent foul throws may spoil his chances, as they did in the Pennsylvania Relay Carnival. Marshall ought to get second with Osborn, Tonon, and Dexter as the rivals most to be feared.

The University is not as strong in the two new events; the javelin and discus throws; as early season results predicted, so it is doubtful if the Crimson athletes will equal Tech's score here. Carpenter may take first with the discus, but the Engineers with Mimick and Boli are pretty sure of two places. Finally, in the javelin Tonon of Tech is expected, by many who have watched him in action, to win the event, Greenidge of the University is ruling favorite for second, while the third place is more or less of a toss-up between Kernan of the University and Boli and Holt of Technology.