The varsity cross country team will be trying to stay in the win column today as it seeks its second straight victory in a triangular meet with Boston University and Providence College on the varsity's home course at Franklin Field.

In a meet which figures as a mid-week tuneup for a tougher meet against Brown this Friday, Coach McCurdy will be attempting to capitalize on the potential depth shown in last weekend's opening win over Cornell.

In that unexpectedly one-sided 22 to 37 triumph, the varsity combined real power-running with timely support from the reserves to sweep six of the first nine places from the Big Red. For the harriers, the victory unveiled a formidable scoring threat in the one-two combination of Captain Dyke Benjamin and sophomore standout Jed Fitzgerald. The two finished first and second respectively, about 10 seconds apart, with both almost equalling the course record.

Depth Is Problem

"But depth will still be our problem in the big meets," McCurdy warned, "even though we were temporarily straightened out against Cornell." One reason for the "straightening out" was the improved performance of several runners whose health status had been in doubt. Ed Martin, who has been nursing a troublesome Achilles tendon, managed to finish fourth for the Crimson, while Jim Schlaeppi, whose conditioning has been hampered by a cold, finished sixth.

Two other harriers who may develop into strong supporting runners are Will Thompson, who finished third against Cornell, and Mac Brown, who came in sixth in the meet.

From the information available on today's meet, Providence College figures as the stronger of the varsity's two opponents, although the Crimson should experience no real difficulty with either team.

In the freshman meet the Yardling harriers will be seeking their first win of the season when they meet the B.U. and Providence freshman teams. The Yardlings dropped their opener with Cornell last Saturday, even though Crimson speedster Marc Mullin established a new freshman record at Ithaca.