Harvard's hard-luck cross-country team evened its season record in one glorious swoop by clobbering Pennsyivants, 17-39, and Columbia, 22-39, in a triangular meet yesterday afternoon at New York's Van Cortlandt Park.

The triangular score was Harvard 24, Penn 49, Columbia 58.

Following a pattern established in the first two meets with Providence and Northeastern, sophomore stalwart Doug Hardin raced home alone in first place and senior Jim Smith won a battle for third. But in the first two losses, that was where-the first two losses, that was where-the Crimson strength ran out. Yesterday, it was just the beginning.

Junior Joe Ryan and sophomore Tim McLoone, in their best performances to date, finished fifth and sixth, Bob Stempson rounded out the Harvard scoring by coming in ninth.

Hardin took the lead after a mile and was never headed. His 25:53 time on the 5-mile course was approximately a minute faster than Columbia's Bennett Flax, who came in second.

The race was won between the one-and-two-mile markers, as the Harvard contingent moved an masse to the front of the pack. Position gained by the two-mile point generally holds up, and with nine Crimson runners among the first 14, the defeats of Penn and Columbia were assured.

The development of Ryan and McLoone into point-getters was encouraging, but another showing that should be noted was that of Crimson captain Jim Baker.

Baker has been out of the running all fall with a sprained ankle, but his return to form started yesterday as he finished sixth for Harvard and twelfth overall. He was in the middle of a seven-man group--Ryan, McLoone, Stempson, Dick Howe, Tom Black, and Bruce Jones--that passed the two-mile mark only 16 seconds apart.

The freshmen lost to Penn, 26-31, despite the one-two finish of Roy Shaw and Keith Colburn.