In a brief, pleasant interlude in what has so far been an arduous and often frustrating season, the Harvard cross country team spiritedly ran its way to a 22-33 drubbing of a depleted Dartmouth squad admidst the colorful foliage of Franklin Park yesterday afternoon.
Although missing the services of top runner Art Switchenko, and not boasting the talent of past years, the Big Green still gave the Crimson some competition in the persons of Hampton and Blaze Tatananni.
Before the race, the Herd planned to form a pack and stampede the men from Hanover together, but Hampton, no. 103, had other ideas.
"We planned to blast the first mile, and then reconnoiter at the two mile and form a pack." John Murphy said. Murph bombed through the first--after jumping the starting gun--recording the fastest split of the year at 4:35. The only problem came when he turned around after the mile to look for his teammates and saw Dartmouth's no. 103 not far behind.
"I don't know what he was doing there," Murphy said after the meet, "but I certainly didn't invite him."
Eichner and Murphy had a moving conference and enacted plan B. Eichner took off just prior to the second mile mark, trying to work on Hampton. Meanwhile, Murphy stayed behind to organize a pack. Murphy succeeded, but only temporarily Just after two miles Thad McNulty, Noel Scidmore, Buck Logan, Peter Johnson and Adam Dixon were all running in a clump along with Murphy. By four miles Dixon dropped back, the Harvard crowd had spread out, and Tatananni had moved into fourth place.
While the guys in the middle were sorting themselves out, Eichner just kept on running, putting more and more empty space between him and the green jerseyed Hampton and then between himself and teammate Murphy. By the finish line, Eichner led by a solid 250 yards or 26 seconds, registering a 30:11 compared to the second place Murphy's 30:37.
"I only ran about twenty seconds faster last Tuesday, but this sure felt a lot easier," Eichner said following the race. "I'm a little tired considering this is the third meet since last Friday. Thank God we have a week off."
Friday the harriers host the Big Three meet against Yale and Princeton. Suprisingly enough, Yale is the team to beat this year. The Bulldogs handily defeated Penn, who in turn destroyed the Crimson. Juniors Geoff Mearns and Eli Wehrwein are the Elis to watch.
"I think we'll beat them just the same," Eichner said. "We should take at least one and two. As for Princeton, they're just a couple of aging seniors who aren't running very well."
Harvard 22, Dartmouth 33 at Franklin Park, Mass.
10,000 meters
1. Eichner (H) 30:11; 2. Murphy (H) 30:37; 3. Hampton (D) 30:56; 4. Tatananni (D) 30:57; 5. Scidmore (H) 31:03; 6. Logan (H) 31:06; 7. Stauffer (D) 31:10; 8. Johnson (H) 31:26; 9. Carley (D) 31:32; 10. Gaudioso (D) 31:32;
Read more in News
Campus Crime ReportRecommended Articles
-
Harriers Trail in Tri-Meet; Quakers Breeze to Easy WinMost Bronxites leg it faster than they are accustomed to when they disembark from the Broadway subway at 242nd St.
-
On Your Mark...The figure lies motionless on a second-hand red sofa, stomach down and almost totally obscured by a mass of towels,
-
Princeton, Yale, Run Past HarriersIt had the makings of a great made-for-t.v. film. Forced to sit out the season because of an operation on
-
Shaw Stars at Phil.; Medley Team SecondWith Roy Shaw running the three-quarter mile in a blisteringly fast 2:54.3, Harvard's distance medley team placed second yesterday in
-
ANNOUNCE ENTRIES FOR INTERCOLLEGIATE MEETCoach Martin picked 22 track men last night to take part in the I. C. A. A. A. A. games
-
Murphy Captures Heptagonal Individual CrownThe rain held off just long enough yesterday afternoon in Bethleham, Pa., to provide a perfect day for cross country