Paul Padlak (167) took third and Howie Freedman (177) took fourth this weekend in the Harvard wrestling team's best showing ever in the Eastern championships.

The team gathered 24 points during the two-day exhibition at Philadelphia's Palestra, enough to finish seventh. Lehigh, a perennial power, took the team title, with Navy second and Penn State third.

Padlak got his third-place medal with the fastest pin of the tournament, a 1:32 surpriser over Navy's Bob Aarons. To get there, he had to work his way through the consolation bracket after losing his second match to Penn State's Jerry Seaman, 5-3.

Seaman went on to win the 167-title, entitling Padlak to re-enter. Padlak then beat Cornell's Mike Minor on a default and decisioned Dave Crikelair of Franklin and Marshall, 5-0, to meet Aarons for third. Crikelair had compiled a 12-0 season record before the tournament.

Caprio Stops Freedman

Freedman also traveled the consolation route. He pulled out a 3-2 decision over Penn's Dave Laboskey with a last second take-down in his second match, but lost to Penn State's Rich Lorenzo, 4-0. Because Lorenzo made it to the finals of the tournament, Freedman too was entitled to keep going. He beat Navy's Ed Bannet, 8-3, to reach the third place finals, where he lost to Lehigh's Joe Caprio, 6-0.

The rest of the Harvard contingent didn't fare as well. Captain Ed Franquemont--who had been seeded third in the 152-class--was upset by Penn State's Bob Abraham in overtime. Franquemont had scored an initial 2:57 pin over Cornell's Tony Monticello.

Howie Henjyoji (123) also scored an initial pin -- over A1 Spector of F&M--but lost, 10-4, to Navy's Gary Burger, Burger finished second in that class, so Henjyoji got to meet Rutger's Joe Slachetka, whom he pinned at 5:34, and Temple's Wayne Boyd, to whom he lost, 11-4, eliminating him from the standings.