More than 100 people crowded Boylston Auditorium last night to hear Richard L. Blumenfeld '80 and Jacqueline S. Kearney '78 capture first and second place repectively in the Boylston Prize Speaking Contest.

Blumenfeld, who left the auditorium after reciting his selection because he was disappointed with his delivery, gave a speech from Richard Nash's "The Rainmaker."

Kearney, who was a Boylston finalist last year, delivered a moving selection from "In White America" by Martin Duberman.

The seven finalists, selected from an original group of 30, each delivered a literary or oratorical selection of a maximum of five minutes in Latin, Greek or English.

The Boylston Prize, which awards $100 to the winner and $50 to the runner-up, is not the most lucrative, but is among the oldest and most prestigious awards the University gives each year.