Keith Colburn turned in the seceond-fastest mile ever run by a Harvard student when he tried once again Saturday in Philadelphia to beat Marty Liquori in the IC4A's, but after pushing Liquori under four minutes, he fell back to fourth place.

Colburn and Skip Hare, who won the long jump (24'3 1/2') Friday, scored the only points for Harvard, which finished ninth behind Villanova, the winner. The Crimson, competed, however, without weightman Ed Nosal and distance runner Dave Pottetti.

The mile slowed down after a speedy first quarter paced by Maryland's John Baker, and at the gun, about six runners were jammed together. Liquori, perhaps the world's finest miler, then took the lead. A second later, Colburn broke out of the group and moved up to Liquori.

Fade, Fade, Fade Away

The two ran together for a half a lap before Colburn began to fade, and then Howell Michael and Chris Mason moved past Colburn to finish under four minutes. "Colburn was nicking my heels all the way round on the last lap," Liquori, who finished in 3:58.5, told the New York Times.

The remarkable thing about Colburn's performance Saturday is that he has been training almost haphazardly in the last week or two. He is one of the class marshals and has had to devote much of his time to commencement activities. His practice was hard distance instead of speed.

"On the basis of his training, I wouldn't have expected a damn thing," coach Bill McCurdy said last night.

The fastest mile in Harvard history was run by Jim Baker in this meet two years ago. Baker fought for the lead during most of the race, but despite his time of 4:00.2, he finished sixth. Villanova's Dave Patrick won in 3:56.8

Roy Shaw finished eighth in the mile in 4:06.2. He is one of six Harvard trackmen who may go to the NCAA's, which start June 18 at Des Moines, Iowa. The other possibilities are Nosal, Colburn, Hare, Pottetti, and Tom Spengler.