What happens when you mix lots of talent, an ingenious strategy and a homecourse advantage? It doesn't take Betty Crocker to know you've got the ingredients for a great cross-country performance. The Crimson women followed the recipe to perfection in defeating URI 23-32 at Franklin Park yesterday.

"Today's performance is what I call a team victory," coach Pappy Hunt said, as Harvard captured five out of the first ten places despite the absence of standout Anne Sullivan.

Therese Sellers and Karla Amble ran remarkable races, as both crossed the finish line just seconds shy of the course record. The two exchanged the lead several times in the last mile before Sellers pulled ahead in the last 100 yards to take first place.

Amble pressed to keep up her pace throughout the race because she thought she was being pursued by a Rhodie runner until Hunt told her she was being trailed by teammate Sellers.

Although overshadowed by the stellar performances of Sellers and Amble, it was the strong showing of the Linsley sisters, captain Sarah (4th) and Kristen (6th), and Karen Messet (10th), which wrapped up the victory for the Crimson.

Teammates credited the impressive victory with Hunt's strategy of going out at a breakneck pace over the first mile. "It's determined quickly, you take all the positions in the first mile and you wouldn't believe how little they change," Hunt said.

Hunt said, "Everyone's tired after the first mile but when you're 100 yards ahead, it's a great psychological advantage."

Since the Crimson women handed UMass its first defeat ever in dual meet competition last week and ran all over highly touted URI yesterday, Hunt's brainstorm may be the latest around the Harvard campus.

Without the nucleus of the four best runners, Mary Herlihy, Paula Newnan, Jo Forman -- currently injured -- and Anne Sullivan, today's victory displays even more the team's depth. Their return will make the rest of the upcoming season even brighter.

In their next meet, the Crimson runners will leave the flat confines of Franklin Park for a key dual race with the harriers of the University of New Hampshire and Brown. The meet will be run over the undulating and scenically breathtaking UNH course in Durham, N.H., which normally serves as the university golf course.

Meanwhile, Hunt will try and whip up a new batch of his winning recipe.