Beaten by Harvard in the weight events, left behind in the races, and frustrated in the sprints, Manhattan limped home to New York Saturday. In Cambridge, meanwhile, 71-38 triumph by the Crimson track team left the most optimistic partisans surprised.

The Jaspers had hoped to yield but a small margin in the shot put and weight throw, but they hoped in vain. Ed Bailey, Art Doten, and Loren Clayman began the afternoon by sweeping the 35-lb, weight throw for the Crimson.

Rick deLone then put the shot 56 ft., 4 3/4 in. to shatter the record of 56 ft., 2 in. which he had established ten minutes earlier. That previous toss had eclipsed the Harvard indoor record, while his later one fell within two inches of Steve Cohen's University mark. Sarge Nichols' 52 ft., 9 in . gave Harvard 17 of 18 possible points in these two events.

Victory Clinched

Soon after the races began, the victory was clinched. Contributing most was captain Mark Mullin, whose 4:15.1 mile disconcerted Manhattan for good. Mullin sliced the Cage record by three seconds, and Ed Hamlin, who took second behind him, also bettered the old figure. A short hour later Mullin racked up another five points by winning the 1000-yard run in 2:17.0. Then, seemingly inexhaustible, he ran a brill-Hant anchor leg, coming from ten yards behind to take the two mile relay with a 2:00.1 split.

Only Tyrone Pannell kept the Jaspers in competition. The versatile star topped the Crimson's Marty Beckwith in the high jump, reaching 6 ft., 4 in., and plunged ahead of Jack Spitzborg to win the 40-yard high hurdles.

It wasn't that the other Jasper stars collapsed; they wore beaten. In the most thrilling race of the afternoon, don Kirkland dove to victory in the 600, nipping the Jaspers' vaunted captain Ron Green. Kirkland ran like he owned the Cage track; he seemed to move fastest on the treacherous turns. In the 600, he stayed behind McArdle and green of Manhattan, graciously allowing them to kill each other for the lead. On the final lap he began kicking, erased a 20-foot margin, and won at the wire. later, in the two-mile relay, Kirkland opened a wide gap with a 2:00.4 lead-off split.

It some victories can be considered more significant than others in such a consistent team effort, Jim Leath's surprising first in the 40-yard dash and Don Forte's tie for first in the pole vault should be singled out.

Vaulter Lame

When Jay Mahancy, the Crimson's leading vaulter, pulled up lame, Forte rose to the occasion, tying Dennis Hasset of the Jaspers at 12 ft., 6 in. Mahaney took third at 12 feet, to give the Crimson an event which Manhattan considered private property. Finally, Beckwith's 23-foot broad jump (which led another Crimson sweep), and Ed Meehan's authoritative grasp of the two-mile, helped pound nails into the Jasper coffin.

The team was taken aback by its own power and versatility: "It's psychologically hard to be up for a meet after two larks like M.I.T. and B.U., so they got us scared by reminding us that Manhattan is always strong and they have some well-known starts..."

Manhattan is traditionaly a national track power, yet it would be foolhardy to assess the Crimson's chances in the nationals at this point. The Cage track is rather unique, and injuries make predictions dangerous. But it looks as if the problem of confidence might plague coach Bill McCurdy throughout the season.