"I argued as strongly as I could, especially for Fitzsimmons, but the board decided that our performance was just not strong enough to warrant expenditure to send us," McCurdy said.

Freshman harrier Peter Fitzsimmons would have qualified for the nationals on an individual basis by placing 30th in the qualifying meet. As it turned out, according to Okerman, a UMass runner who placed 42nd in the qualifying meet behind Fitzsimmons was sent to the finals by his school, and garnered All-American honors on the basis of his performance in the finals.

"There was every justification to send Fitzsimmons with the kind of year he had," said McCurdy. "But it was a tough decision all around. Unfortunately for us, this time, things just didn't go our way."

Fitzsimmons, contacted last night, said "it didn't really matter that much" that Harvard didn't send him to the NCAA s. "It was the end of the season, and I was tired," he said.

"Cross-country is not a revenue sport," Fitzsimmons said, "but we work as hard as the football or hockey teams and should be treated with equality."

Okerman was somewhat less sympathetic.

"We all would have given anything to run in the NCAAs," Okerman said. "It means a lot to an athlete to qualify in such a meet, and the fact remains, we did make the qualifying standards," he added. "It's just a real disappointment."