Prematurely written off as a lifeless affair, the K. of C. track meet last Saturday at the Boston Garden surprised veteran observers with a rash of splendid performances. Many of the very best efforts were contributed by the Yale track team-an ominous portent if there ever was one.

The Crimson fared well enough, by ordinary standards. Pat Liles outdistanced Yale's Ed Slowik in the Farrell 500, a race featuring the best collegiate middle distance runners in New England. In winning this battle of captains, Liles came within ninth-tenths of a second of the meet record with his 58.3 clocking.

Ever-improving Steve Cohen turned in his best toss ever in the shot put, a 51 ft., 10 in. heave. A year ago, Cohen was mired at the 46-ft. mark, and by the end of the 1959 spring season he still had difficulty in hitting 50 ft. consistently. His rapid rise this season, combined with Sarge Nichols's emergence, seems likely to give the varsity unprecedented shot put strength.

Doten, Blodgett Excel

Stan Doten bettered his own University weight throw mark with a 57 ft., 1 in. effort; he and Ed Bailey should form another unbeatable twosome in the field events. Although he fell short in his attempt to become Harvard's first 14-ft. vaulter, Tom Blodgett reinforced his claim to the indoor record by clearing 13 ft., 6 in. Moreover, he made it to the finals in the hurdless against top-flight opposition.

Two of the most impressive performances under Crimson colors came from runners unable to help the varsity later in the season, Freshman Lowell Davidson won a standing ovation with a tremendous anchor leg on the mile relay, in which he picked up 45 yards on the leader. And Russell Bennett, a Divinity School student, finished a surprising fourth in the Larivee three-mile.

But Yale was tremendous. In head-to-head competition, the Elis swept everything but the 500 duel. The Crimson two-mile relay team came in a poor fourth, behind a stacked Holy Cross lineup, Yale's second unit, and Brown. The Bulldog's top four half-milers ran a superlative 7:43.8 to win the spotlighted two-mile relay.

Yale, Penn, and Brown all took the measure of the Crimson in the mile relay. The Bulldogs' first place time was 3:22-quite good, but nothing to match Villanova's meet record 3:18.1 in another race.

The truly horrifying developments though, from the Crimson point of view, came in the Cardinal Cushing 1000 and the Prout 600. In the 1000, the New York Athletic Club's Tom Murphy, the Pan-American 800-meter champion, took his customary lead and seemed headed for victory. Far back in the pack, seemingly having trouble hitting his stride, was Yale's great Tommy Carroll.

Carroll made his move with a lap to go. He gained steadily on Murphy, and when the NYAC veteran inexplicably left the inside lane open, Carroll charged past him. The time was 2:09.2, lowering Ron Delany's old meet mark by a full second.

Carroll was not even winded at the finish. A nationally-known prodigy even in his high school years, he seems ready at last to attain the heights everyone predicted for him. He will menace Crimson performers in the 1000, mile, and both relays this winter.

Running against Morgan State's Nick Ellis, Bates' Rudy Smith, and Michigan's Tony Seth, all of whom tower over him, Yale's Jim Stack led from the outset to win in the fine time of 1:10.9. There is no Crimson runner within five seconds of him in this event. Both Stack and Carroll came back after brief rests to pace the number one Eli two-mile squad. Carroll contributed a 1:55 880 as anchor man to fight off challenges by Villanova and Georgetown.

So the varsity will have its work cut out for it against Yale this winter. The Crimson should dominate the field events, especially if Cohen, Nichols, Doten, Bailey, and Blodgett continue to improve, but after Frank Yeomans in the dash and Blodgett in the hurdles, the running events look bleak.

It will be up to coach Bill McCurdy to concoct some sort of miracle. He's done it before.