"This has absolutely been our best team effort this season. The girls really bounced back for this one and ran beautifully," coach Pappy Hunt said of the Crimson women's cross coutry team's second-place, 75-point finish in the Ivy Championships yesterday at Fairmount Park, Pa

Freshman Darlene Beckford strode to a second-place finish in the race, behind Princeton sophomore Lynn Jennings, who yesterday led the Tigers to their second consecutive Ivy crown.

The 40 point score that sealed the victory for Princeton, which is 8-0 for the season and sending seven of their squad to the Nationals, came as a shock to no one. But Yale's third-place finish surprised the many who thought the race for second, third and fourth, would primarily be between Brown, Harvard, and Dartmouth.

Orange Juice

Yale's 92 points narrowly squeezed out Brown, which took fourth with 95 points. Dartmouth came trodding far behind with 133 points and sixth place in the meet.

"I just don't know what happened to Dartmouth. They just fell flat on their faces," Hunt said afterwards of the team that had between the Crimson in a dual meet earlier this season.

Besides the outstanding team performances by Princeton and Harvard, the only two teams to place all of their top five finishers among the first 25 spots, several individuals stood out.

Princeton's Jennings, who has left tattered course records, wherever she roams, bettered the previous Fairmount Park record with a time of 15:48. Beckford, who also beat the old course record, followed 19 seconds behind with 16:07.

The next three finishers were all within a seven-second span right on Beckford's heels. Debbie Schulte from Tiger town took third (16:10), the Bruin's Anne Sullivan placed fourth (16:13), and Yale's Debbie Ulian crossed the finish line fifth (16:19).

Crimson ace Johanna Forman, Harvard's second finisher, came from way back in the field and placed seventh with a time of 16:40. Sophomore Kristin Linsley, senior Kat Taylor, and sophomore Ashley Warren crossed the finish line in 18th, 23rd, and 25th place respectively.

The race turned into a battle for second right away when Jennings struck up a fast pace and took the leadearly on, a spot she would not relinquish during the race. For the first mile, which was smooth and flat, Beckford held her ground in second with a split of 5:20 closely followed by a small pack of other runners.

"Then we went up a very steep incline. It took a long time and it seemed like I was almost walking. By the time we got to the top, Eve Thompson from Princeton passed me. After that we hit a flat part and I got by her again. I kept looking behind me and there were people following me closely the whole way," Beckford said after the meet.

The course turned downhill through a wooded area, and with three quarters of a mile remaining, Jennings emerged alone. Beckford followed, but it became obvious that the hilly course was beginning to take its toll. With a half mile to go, the harriers still had to conquer two more hills. Hills, Beckford admits, are not her strong point.

Just Enough

"As we went up the hill I could see the girls behind me getting closer and I could hear some guy yelling to them, "She's getting tired! She's getting tired!' and he was right."

Still, she mustered her forces, forged up the last hill, and sprinted home.

Beckford travels to Florida State College on October 17 for the national collegiate championships.