Freshman star Darlene Beckford led the Harvard women's cross country team to a respectable eighth-place finish in yesterday's Eastern Division 1 Championship at Westchester, Pa. The perenially powerful pacers from Penn State topped the field with an untouchable mark of 36 points.

Beckford, who had been sidelined for the past three weeks nursing an injured achilles tendon, placed eighth in the race and was the Crimson's top finisher. Her-time of 17:58 qualified her for the national collegiate championships.

Penn State ran away with the meet, placing three of their top runners in the first five spots. Two Nittany Lions came in among the top 15 in the field of 128 runners.

The University of Maryland placed second in the meet with 121 points trailing far behind the leader.

The Crimson fared well among its Ivy rivals, beating out Dartmouth, Cornell, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, following just eight points behind seventh place Brown.

Princeton, though, was far out of reach. The third-place Tigers were led by Lynn Jennings, who with a winning time of 16:55, shattered the previous record for the Weschester State College course of 17:29 by more than half a minute.

Harvard fans will remember Jennings for her role in Princeton's victory at the annual Big Three meet where she broke the Franklin Park course record. Penn State fans will now remember Jennings for her upset win over their top runner, Kathy Mills, in yesterday's meet. Mills, who has won the Eastern Championship for the past three years, crossed the finish line at 17:11 for second place, and a time that also bettered the old course record.

Although the muddy and rocky terrain proved a challenge for the Harvard harriers, several ran strongly. Johanna Forman, a junior who has been a top finisher in many meets this year, placed 31st at 18:49. Sophomore Kristin Linsley came in at 44th with a time of 19:41. Ashley Warren and captain Karla Amble placed 65 and 76 respectively with times 19:41 and 19:52.

"It's the toughest course I've ever run. There always seemed to be another hill," Amble said afterwards.

The pace throughout the 5,000 meter race was erratic, as the leaders took out a fairly quick pace with a split time of 5:15. The second mile led the runners up a winding and rocky trail which Coach Pappy Hunt described as "wet and treacherous" from the rain the night before. The pack slowed its pace here as passing became difficult on the narrow path. During the last mile the tempo picked up as the course began to wind downhill.

Friday the squad travels to Philadelphia to battle for bragging rights of the Ivy League. Princeton looks like the team to beat, but both Brown and Dartmouth pose a substantial threat.