YONKERS. N.Y., Nov. 23-The varsity cross country team is resting here tonight for tomorrow's NCAA championship in Van Cortland Park, Harvard, expected to finish near the top will be trying to make up for last week's disappointing performance in the IC4A's.

In that meet also run in Van Cortland; Park, the Crimson got a top performance only from captain Keith Colurn, and the team finished a very distant second. It was the second year in a row that Harvard did not run as well as expected, and Villanova has begun to take such letdowns for granted.

Tomorrow. Villanova will again be the favorite, and Harvard must overcome both the psychological problems of past letdowns, and Villanova, as well as other strong teams from the West.

To add to the bad situation, it appeared late last week that the Crimson might not be able to run a full team.

Colburn had a bad cold. Roy Shaw had a sprained left ankle suffered in the IC4A's and Dave Pottetti was bothered by a knee injury.

But as of tonight, both Colburn and Shaw are healthy and the only question is Pottetti, although he has been okayed by the doctor.

Coach Bill McCurdy is cautions but optimistic about his team, which also includes Mike Koerner, John Heyburn, Erik Roth, and Howie Foye. "We're not going to be in there for exercise." he said. Thursday. "We'll be a better team than we were in the IC4A's, but everything must go right."

He expects Villanova. strengthened by some good freshman runners, to be challenged by Oregon. Stanford, and Michigan State, as well as Harvard. "I've got a lot of faith in Villanova, though," he said.

In the IC4A's, Harvard tried to key on Villanova, but tomorrow there will be no special strategy. "Let's just hope the Lord provides," McCurdy said.