Bucking illness and injury, a beleaguered Crimson track squad performed beyond expectations, but bowed, 81-71, in a close contest to crosstown rivals Northeastern Saturday at Soldiers' Field.
A strong field contingent carried the bulk of Harvard's scoring under the frustrated watch of prime talent on the bench.
Ace vaulter Blayne Heckel and versatile jumper Vincent Vanderpool Wallace kept company on the sidelines with a number of strong runners, including three-miler Bill Durette, miler Jeff Campbell and freshman sprinter Larry Schember.
Mel Embree put in the outstanding performance of the afternoon with a solid high jump win. The height of 6' 10" was not extraordinary for Embree, but it shines as his first effort since the indoor NCAAs in March, hampered as he is by jumper's knee.
Chris Queen flung farthest for a discus first with a toss of 146' 5", and Almhad Kayali took similar honors in the triple jump, Embree, Queen and Kayali were responsible for three of the team's five wins.
Back on the dirt track, Sam Butler took a double victory in the high and intermediate hurdles. Butler called it his "best performance since freshman year," and felt new confidence in his abilities finally being "back together."
Two good showings by new men were those of Mark McClain and Bill Wendell according to coach Bill McCurdy. McClain, a freshman sprinter, took a second in both the 100 and the 220, as well as running in the 440 relay. Wendell, an addition to the jumping corps, took a second in the long jump.
McCurdy said he and the team came out of Saturday's meet feeling "positive and optimistic."
"An onslaught of sickness and injuries all but overwhelmed us," said McCurdy. "When people start healing up we should do very well."
The team incurred no new injuries at the meet, and with the benefit of a week's rest. a number of start should be back in the running next week against Princeton.
McCurdy expects stiff competition from the Princeton team next week. "They are a strong team, and they beat us earlier in the indoor season."
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