Harvard ran an encouraging, but not outstanding, race yesterday in New York's Van Cortlandt Park to finish third in the IC4A championships. Villanova won the title for the fifth year in a row, and Pitt was second.

As expected, captain Tom Spengler was the top performer for the Crimson, coming in ninth in 25:09 for the five-mile course, about a minute behind Villanova's Donal Walsh.

Bob Seals was Harvard's second man, finishing 30th. Behind him were teammates John Quirk (33rd). Jeff Brokaw (42nd), George Barker (44th), Tom New (53rd), and Mark Counolly (61st). Harvard's performance was especially encouraging since the five behind Seals are all sophomores.

This is the third straight year that Harvard has been among the top three in the IC4A's. In 1968, the Crimson was also third, and last year it finished a distant second.

Yesterday there was again a big gap between Harvard and the team in front of it. Villanova had 70 points, and Pitt had 79, while the Crimson amassed 150. Following Harvard were William and Mary, Cornell, Manhattan, Penn State, and Penn.

Spengler was the only Harvard runner to get off to a fast start yesterday, and by the time his teammates reached the hills in the second mile, they were in bad position. Narrow paths during that part of the race make it difficult to do much passing.

But by the three-mile point, most of the Crimson harriers had picked up ground. "I began to get a little excited when they came out of the woods," said coach Bill McCurdy later. Most of them were in the 40's and 50's with two miles left.

They continued to move up on the flats, especially Seals, whose hip joint bothered him slightly. It was this strong finish by the Harvard team that enabled it to avoid a fifth or sixth-place performance.

Spengler was never further back than about fifteenth. "I was a little bit encouraged," he said. His workouts the past two weeks have been limited because of his hip injury.