Last month, is an informal meet with the University of Massachusetts, big Geoff Tootell picked up a leather-bound brass ball and flipped it 50 feet, 9 7/8 inches, unofficially breaking a Harvard record. Last week, in New York, in the N.Y.A.C. games, Yale's Jim Fuchs put the shot nearly seven feet farther and broke the indoor record . . . and thereby hangs a sad story.

The Crimson looked fairly good last month in informal tests with opponents like Rhode Island State, Boston University, and Massachusetts, but only eight of the 23 varsity trackmen who competed against Army and Princeton at West Point last Saturday counted in the final score: Army 67 5/6, Princeton 42 2/3, Harvard 26 1/2.

Aside from that, in the Knights of Columbus, Boston Athletic Association, and Millrose Games, the mile relayers, picked from among Harvey Thayer, Ed Grutzner, Jack Ellis, Tom McGrath, Charlie Durakis, Lon Tsavaris, and Ronnie Berman, have managed to finish ahead of Yale twice, and once in front of, once behind, MIT. Nobody else did much of anything. The unfortunate fact in that the best of the Harvards, like Tootell, are overshadowed by other men on opposing teams.

Anyway, by events:

35-pound weight--Dick Rubin is a little better than Tootell with this one, although Geoff finished ahead of him at West Point.

Shot put--Almost all Tootell. Coach Jaakko Mikkola expects him to raise officially the Harvard record (50 feet, 8 inches) at any time. Don Trimble is better than he was last year, and may get over 50. Jerry Kanter is small, but he can heave it 47 feet.

High jump--Dick Barwise was jumping 6 feet 3 inches last year. Now, after a layoff, he's barely making 6. Dave Best has been clearing over 5 feet 8.

Pole vault--Bud Lockett has done 13 feet in his better days, but at present is nursing a torn muscle in his right arm. There is little doubt that he'll score a lot this spring. Best is number two vaulter, but in big time competition 11 feet doesn't get you many points.

Broad jump--Dave Carter can make a 22-foot jump, but has good men against him (Army's Scott and Rapp go well over 23 feet). Bill Geick did 21 feet 8 inches last year in the Harvard-Yale-Oxford-Cambridge meet.

Mile Dave Cairns has been out of practice but is starting to come along. Last spring, as a freshman, Cairns did 4:26.3 at Dartmouth, an amazing improvement over his previous 4:40. Princeton's Wittredge, however, cuts 4:13, and Army is loaded with fine milers. Bill Baker has been running in the two-mile relay, but will do the mile in the Yale meet. Steve Sharp and Clark Coggeshall are new.

Spring Should Bring Better Times

600-yard run--Thayer and Grutzner may prove to be pleasant surprises before the season is over. They've both run slightly over 1:15 in the Cage. McGrath will probably be up with them for the Yale meet, but none of the others are ready. Chuck Harwood, favoring a pulled leg muscle, will probably be running the 220 in the spring.

Hurdles--Durakis and Pat McCormick won't hit top shape for some time.

Dash--also should be all right in the spring, depending largely on Dick Weiskopf, who is capable of a ten-second 100 and a 5.5-second 50. Murray Pearlstein tries too hard, but runs quite well when he concentrates on form. Dave Carter, Bill Geick, and Larry Sperber are fair. Thayer can do rather well in the 220 but is essentially a quarter-miler.

1000-yard run--Berman is top man here. He may run the half-mile in the spring, but has stuck by the quarter this winter and needs more competitive experience at this distance. Joe Rosen always seems to run slower in meets than in practice.

Two-mile--Dave Gregory and Hank Everett are not outstanding, but Mikkola hopes they'll break 10 minutes. Joe Leeming (cross-country captain) will probably be up with them.

Relays--the mile relay, as already noted, is one of the brighter lights of the squad, with the Durakis-Tsavaris-Thayer-McGrath combination running a fast second at West Point. The two-mile is not very strong. Mikkola chooses from among Cairns, Ellis, Bill Baker, Al Ruby, and George Williams. But the half-mile men must go under 2 minutes, and only Williams and Cairns seem capable of doing it. Also, Cairns has to run the mile first.

As usual, Yale has a strong team. The Yale meet is Wednesday. There's always the spring season.