Weakened by the loss of star middle distance man Dave Alpers, Coach Bill McCurdy's varsity track team will try to edge out favored Cornell and Yale squads in the annual Heptagonal games at Ithaca this afternoon.

To win, the Crimson will have the double task of matching the Big Red's vaunted running power while scoring against the Eli weightmen.

Alpers' back injury, which has sidelined him since last week, has also forced McCurdy to juggle his entrants in the vital 600 and mile relay races, both of which are usually varsity mainstays. As things stand, sophomores Mike Robertson and Zab Warren will replace Alpers in the 600 and mile relay, respectively, and though they have improved continually during the season neither can match the flest junior's times.

The 1000 and the mile may also determine the Crimson's chances of victory, for the Big Red has placed two of its strongest runners in these events. Dick Wharton will battle cornell's Browne in the shorter race, while Al Wills takes on the home team's Rosenbaum in the mile: both races appear to be toss-ups.

Yale will probably deminate the 35-lb, weight throw and the shot put. But Carl Goldman's tremendous heave, which edged Henderson at the 1c4As last week, if repeated could mean an upset in the event which keynoted Yale's victory over the varsity at Now haven.