In quest of Ivy pride, the Harvard men's track team finished second by a heart-breaking two points in the Big Three meet held Saturday in New Haven, Conn.

The Tigers of Princeton nosed out the Crimson, 72-70. Host Yale mustered a mere 17 points to nail down third.

In no less than nine of 16 events, a Princeton athlete snatched first while a Harvard trackster grabbed second. The margin of the Crimson's loss was thus all the more frustrating.

The Tigers swept the mile and the two-mile relays, edging the Harvard squad in both races. The Crimson thinclads managed only four firsts over the course of the competition, although they captured 12 second-place finishes.

Harvard swept the top three positions in the two-mile run, as Peter Fitzsimmons edged cronies Mark Meyer and Ed Sheehan with a solid 8:59 flat.

Flying High

Sola Mahoney registered an admirable performance, soaring to a 21-ft. 9-in. leap to grab the laurels in the long jump. Mahoney also took second in the triple jump.

Co-captain Geoff Stiles, returning from a hamstring pull, won the pole vault, clearing the bar at 14 feet. John Chafee notched the only other victory for the Crimson, blazing home in 1:56.3 to take first in the 880-yd. run.

On the whole, however, it was a day of near misses and disappointing seconds for the tracksters.

Snake Eyes

Star miler John Murphy had a disappointing afternoon, grabbing the third spot in the mile race, after losing a shoe, and falling just short of the 1000-yd. run, despite recording a 2:13.4, identical to the winning time.

PRINCETON 72, HARVARD 70, YALE 17 at New Haven, Conn.

Mile--1. Smith (P) 4:11.6;2. McNulty (H) 4:12.1; 3. Murphy (H) 4:13.1; Osbome (Y) 4:14.8.

440-yd. run--1. Carty (P) 51.1; 2. Frim (H) 51.4; 3. Nicodemus (H) 51.9; 4. Chambers (Y) 52.4.

600-yd. run--1. Libertelli (P) 1:13.6; 2. Dixon (H) 1:14.0; 3. Sherber (P) 1:14.5; 4. Spilsbury (Y) 1:15.0.

60-yd. High hurdles--1. Modu (P) 7.7; 2. Zvosec (P) 7.9; 3. Wright (P) 7.9; 4. Johnson (H) 8.0.

880-yd. run--1. Chafee (H) 1:56.3; 2. Swenson (P) 1:57.0; 3. Lawrence (Y) 1:57.5; 4. Ward (P) 1:58.6.

1000-yd. run--1. Challener (P) 2:13.4; 2. Murphy (H) 2:13.4; 3. McNulty (H) 2:14.3; 4. Osborne (Y) 2:14.5. 60-yd. Dash--1. Hill (Y) 6.3; 2. Salvo (H) 6.4; 3. Kumi (P) 6.4; Modu (P) 6.6.

Two-Mile--1. Fitzsimmons (H) 8:59.0; 2. Meyer (H) 9:00.8; 3. Sheehan (H) 9:03.2; 4. Bond (P) 9:07.5. Mile Relay--1. Princeton 3:23.8; 2. Harvard 3:25.2; 3. Yale3:32.7.

Two-Mile Relay--1. Princeton 7:44.0; 2. Harvard 7:44.8; 3. Yale 8:01.0.

Shot Put--1. Spears (Y) 53-4; 2. Quantock (H) 50-1; 3. Ciavarra (P) 47-11; 4. Drvaric (H) 47-1.

Pole Vault--1. Stiles (H) 14-0; 2. Bartholomae (P) 13.6; 3. Crigler (P) 13-0; 4. Bailey (H) 11-0.

35-pound weight--1. Pellegrini (P) 59-10; 2. Lenz (H) 57-1; 3. Ball (H) 55-9; 4. Rostomily (Y) 50-0.

High Jump--1. Malzbender (P) 6-4; 2. Young (H) 6-2; 3. MacBarnett (P) 6-2; 4. Stiles (H) 6-0.

Triple Jump--1. Brostrom (P) 45-5; 2. Mahoney (H) 44-7 3/4; 3. Brooks (H) 42-9; 4. King (H) 42-8.

Long Jump--1. Mahoney (H) 21-9; 2. Barrin (P) no distance given; 3. Ho (H) no distance given.