Despite injury and illness, the Harvard track team performed respectably Saturday and captured third place in the Heptagonal Outdoor Championships at Brown.

"There's nothing wrong with third, but we sure would have liked to win it," track coach Bill McCurdy said yesterday.

Hampered by the absence of bronchitis- stricken hurdler Dewey Hicman, Harvard collected 41 points to place a distant third in the meet. Penn with 82 points managed to slip past Navy with 80 points to win the heptagonals.

Harvard's best performance was in the field events.

Jim Kleiger, the thinclads' top polevaulter, cleared 16 ft. to win the event, while Harvard's Blayne Heckel achieved a close second. Mel Embree triumphed for third in the high jump while Adrian Tew's javelin throw also brought the team a third place.

The only disappointment in the field events was the loss of Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace in the long jump, triple jump, and sprint relay events, as a result of a leg injury incurred on his second long jump attempt.

Baylee Reid, in a surprising upset, brought Harvard its only first place finish in track events for the afternoon. Reid, seeded tenth in the 100-yd. dash, ran the race in 9.8 seconds.