Nine straight wins is not taken lightly in any league, but when Bill McCurdy's freshman cross country team amasses this record--and captures second and third place as well with astounding regularity--just about everybody in Franklin Park sits up and takes notice.

Runners who blaze through the mile in under 4:40 coupled with real team depth account for the Yardling harriers' phenomenal record, the best amassed by McCurdy's aggregation in many a year. Their highest score--which means the poorest in cross country--was 29 points in the triangular with Penn and Columbia two weeks ago.

Coach Bill McCurdy has seven top runners who start in every race, assuming they are free from sickness. Captain Dyke Benjamin, Bill Gillen, Jim Schlaeppi, and Bill Thompson are regular scorers. The fifth scoring post is generally alternated between Mack Brown, Al Gordon, and Larry Jaquith.

Benjamin, according to McCurdy, was a "complete surprise." He runs with an unconventional style, and has tremendous endurance. Characteristic of most of the top flight freshmen, Benjamin is in the process of realizing his great potential.

According to McCurdy, anyone who can do a mile in five minutes has good prospects as a champion harrier.

Schlaeppi has been the most consistently high scorer this season, with two first places and two seconds. Thompson has followed him closely, and now ranks second on the team in scoring. Although Gillen is a strong runner and should be at the top, he has not been at his best throughout the season, because of a cold which has been persisting.

Filling out the team's strength are Howard Katz, Dave Claus, George Monk, Tim Walker, Lee Barnes, John Demos, Bob Brown, and Herb Parsons.

The freshman depth and strength will be put to the test this Friday in the Yale-Princeton triangular. Although the Yardlings are rated to more or less swamp Yale, Princeton may be a different story, for the Tigers have two men who can run a mile under 4:30.

Yardling captain DYKE BENJAMIN will be unable to run in Friday's triangular meet against Princeton and Yale, due to a fractured ankle, it was learned yesterday.