The men's cross country team finally chalked up its third win of the season after three consecutive losses, coasting over a listless Brown squad, 22-35, Saturday afternoon at Franklin Park.

Despite the absence of two regular scorers. Thad McNulty and Buck Logan, the Crimson easily took control of a rather unexciting meet, capturing the top three places. "It was just like a work-out," John Murphy, who finished second, said after the meet. "A work-out that went fairly well," he added.

Reed Eichner led the onslaught as he has in most of the Harvard efforts, registering a time of 31:25 over the 10,000 meter course. Murphy followed barely a second behind, while Noel Scidmore turned in a surprisingly fine performance, completing the course third in 31:37.

The notoriously weak Brown team, even weaker than expected without Tom Ratliffe, who is not running cross country this year, did not interfere with or add to Coach Bill McCurdy's game plan.

"Our big problem has been keeping up with a fast pace and not being rattled by it," Murphy said. "McCurdy wanted us to go out fast, and we did."

Going by the mile with a split of 4:33 (their fastest of the season), Eichner and Murphy controlled the pace and the Bruins were never even close. Scidmore, running his best race ever as a collegiate, zipped by the co-leaders during the fourth mile. He slipped back to third again, when his legs suddenly "became leaden" and ended up 10 seconds behind the front runners.

Next Friday, when the herd travels to Cornell, it leaves the comfortable confines of Franklin Park for a much more rugged course in Ithaca.

One of the great landmarks of the Cornell campus is a large gorge that frustrated students have long used to commit suicide. Friday, the harriers will have to run up it.

"The Cornell course is like Van Cortland." Murphy said. "You don't just run against the other competitors, you also run against the course."

Hopefully, the Crimson will be better prepared than it was for the Penn-Columbia meet, when both squads far outdistanced the tired Harvard team.

McNulty will be back in the lineup after a little rest and relaxation. Logan who is suffering from shingles, is still a question mark, and his status will not be determined until immediately preceding the meet.

"We are still a pretty iffy proposition." McCurdy said. "There are some good things happening, but not enough at once. But then, I'm greedy," he added.

Harvard 22, Brown 35 at Franklin Park, Mass. [10,000 m]

1. Eichner (H) 31.25; 2. Murphy (H) 31:26; 3. Scidmore (H) 31:17; 4. Good (B) 32:13; 5. Gerile (B) 32:30; 6. Seeley (B) 32:38; 7. Jacobs (H) 32:40; 8. Goldfarb (B) 32:47; 9. Weber (H) 32:48; 10. Johnson (H) 33:13; 11. Atkins (H) 33:17; 12. Regan (H) 33:24; 13. Hagarty (B) 33:34; 14. Bolen (H) 34:07; 15. Brown (H) 34:51