Although none of Harvard's wrestlers rate among the favorites in any of the weight classes, coach John Lee feels that three of his men have some reason for optimism in the 65th Annual Eastern Wrestling Intercollegiate, which start today at Princeton.

The three Crimson hopefuls are Pat Coleman, captain Howie Chatterton, and Paul Catinella, who have lost a combined total of only six bouts this year, while winning 24.

Coleman, a 145-pounder, is a sophomore who has improved greatly during the season. The wrestlers he will have to worry most about are Temple's undefeated Dave Pruzansky and Mark Payne of Pitt.

Chatterton was unbeaten at 167 until his last match of the season, when he lost to Princeton's Tom Potts, 7-6. Lehigh's defending champion at 167, Jack Bentz, should be hard to beat, and Army's Greg Smith and Navy's Ben Welch are considered Bentz's top two challengers.

Harvard's captain-elect and dependable 137-pounder is Paul Catinella. Navy captain Steve Comiskey has been runner-up at 137 each of the last two years, and Pat Lavery of Pittsburgh is expected to meet Comiskey in the finals. Catinella, however, may surprise.

Other Harvard wrestlers who may do better than anticipated are John Imrie and heavyweight Tom Tripp, both sophomores.

Clarence Boston of the 1939 team was the last Crimson grappler to win his weight class, and Harvard has not finished higher than seventh since the 1939 squad earned third place.