At the beginning of the winter track season, Crimson coach Bill McCurdy played the Bear Bryant role to perfection; he said that when February 29 rolled around, Army, Yale, Princeton, and Navy would all be slugging it out with his boys for the indoor Heptagonals championship.

But during the course of the season, his boys have destroyed Army, Yale, and Princeton by lopsided scores, so now McCurdy is insisting that Navy, the fourth one, will give the Crimson fits at Cornell today. It's doubtful.

Navy does have scattered strength, but it's not enough. The Middies should take first place in the shot put and the pole vault, and they have a good chance at the top position in the dash and hurdles. Navy shot putter Mike Berkowitz, Heps Yale's Chuck Mercein should take second place, with the Crimson's Art Croasdale third or fourth.

Middle pole vaulter Mike Brown beat Army's best in a dual meet last week, clearing 15 ft. 6 in., and there's no reason why he can't do it again today. Dick Paymale, and Wayne Richard, the same two Cadets that pressed him in that meet, will be pushing Brown this afternoon.

Dash Vital

The 60-yard dash is a must event for the Middles if they hope to have a crack at the championship. Kip Paskewich (6.2 seconds), John Sai, and Crimson runners Chris Ohiri (6.3 seconds) and Aggrey Awori appear to have a firm lock on the top four places.

Awori won the event last year in 6.1 seconds, and a return to his 1963 form is certainly not impossible today, but the Navy runners should do no worse than first and third.

The 60-yard high hurdles shapes up as another Middle-Crimson battle but this time Harvard depth will more than offset the likely Navy victory. Midshipman Courtland Gray, with a 7.3 second timing this winter, is favored but the Crimson's Tony Lynch and Awori should take second and third.

After these strong events, the Navy strength begins to break down. Jack Gleeson has scoring potential in the weight throw, but he could well be held to a scant two points behind the Crimson's favored Art Croasdale, Cornell's Tom Gage, and Army's Ed Schillo.

In the broad jump, Dave Lester, who recorded a 23 ft., 2 1/2 in. leap against Army last week, may be good for second place. If so, he will be sandwiched by Ohiri and Awori.

In the middle and long distance running events, Navy has nothing. Here is where the Crimson should pull inexorably into the lead.

Mottley All Alone

The 600-yard run belongs to Yale's Wendell Mottley, world record-holder from Trinidad. Army's Terry Jenkins, four full seconds behind Mottley at 1:13, appears to be second best. McCurdy said yesterday he plans to enter John Ogden, normally a 1000-yard man. Just recovering from an illness, Ogden will be worth two points at the most for the Crimson.

Princeton's Terry O'Keeffe boasts the season's best time in the 1000, 2:11.2, but Crimson captain Ed Meehan beat him last week at Yale and is likely to do it again today, if given the chance. Whether or not McCurdy saves Meehan for the mile, he will send Keith Chiappa to the starting blocks against O'Keeffe. Chiappa won't win, but he could finish as high as third, behind the Tiger runner and Cornell's Ron Madaras.

If Meehan goes in the mile, the fans will see a real race. Meehan, Brown's Dave Farley, last year's IC4A champion, and Army's Bill Straub, who has done 4:13.9 this winter, are the probable candidates for first, second, and third, but who knows the order?

Army coach Carl Crowell may hold Straub out of the mile and put him in the two-mile, with a chance to defend his 1963 Heps championship and avenge a December defeat at the hands of the Crimson's Walt Hewlett. If so, that one also will be a rip-snorter. Hewlett outlasted Princeton ace Kelly Somers and Yale's Jeff Sidney on the second half of his double win last week, so he should be alone with Straub and possibly Cornell's Jim Byard at the finish today if Straub chooses this distance.

The Cadet mile relay squad boasts a 3:17 time this winter, and should beat Navy by a good two seconds. A flock of teams have 3:21 foursomes. The Crimson, unfortunately, stands at 3:25.

But in the two-mile relay, Harvard will be fighting Brown for first place, with the other quartets battling for third. The Bruins have posted a 7:38 timing for the distance, which will be no small challenge for the Crimson foursome of Meehan, Ogden, Chiappa, and probably Dieter Whal.

The high jump shapes up the name way it did in the Big Three meet last week. It's Yale's Kim Hill, Princeton's John Hartmett, and Harvard's Chris Pardee bunched at the top, with anyone capable of taking home the marbles