It's getting frustrating.

The Harvard men's track team continues to perform superbly but suffers from an unrelenting string of injuries.

The thinclads' third-place finish in yesterday's Greater Boston Championships was a perfect example of the Crimson's "close, but no cigar" season.

Hurdler Lance Miller joined the casualty list when he pulled a muscle in the 400-meter intermediate preliminaries. He has company, though: all-American John Murphy, versatile jumper Sola Mahoney, freshman long jumper Bennett Midlo, high jumper Mike Young and triple jumper Louis Edozien.

Boston University won the meet with 100 points, followed by Northeastern with 95 and the tracksters with 84.5.

Given the Crimson's devastated jumping crew and the loss of Murphy and Miller, it is not unfair to say a full-strength Harvard squad would have a good chance of winning the GBCs.

"We just don't have the depth to absorb all those injuries," assistant coach Ed Stowell said yesterday.

Almost every thinclad registered a solid performance in the meet. The sprint relay squad remained undefeated as Joe Salvo and Ralph Polillio returned from the injured ranks to join Marc Chapus and John Jakenfelds for a time of 41.9 over the 400-meter course.

Higher Appeal

Salvo apparently finished third in the 100, but the judges failed to notice him, and he was left out of the official results.

"They just plain missed the guy. He ought to wear a neon vest, or something," coach Bill McCurdy said yesterday.

Chapus grabbed third in the 200 and led off the 1600-meter relay, which the Crimson won in 3:16.9.

It was a busy weekend for several tracksters who returned from the Penn Relays Saturday night in time to compete yesterday.

Captain Geoff Stiles, who failed to clear his first vault height in rain-soaked Pennsylvania, came back to win the pole vault and tie for second in the high jump yesterday.

Tom Lenz, runnerup in the hammer throw at Penn with a mangificent toss of over 199 feet, won the event yesterday. Colin Ball heaved the hammer 183 ft. 5 in. for a personal best and a second-place GBC finish.

Gary Quantock also set a personal mark of 53 ft. 8.75 in. to snatch second in the shot put.

Joe Pellegrini took second in the discus at the GBCs (third at Penn), and Eddie Sheehan was second in the 10,000 and fifth in the 5000 yesterday (seventh in the 10,000 at Penn).

Thad McNulty continues to improve, prevailing in the 1500 with a 3:49, and Pete Fitzsimmons was runnerup in the steeplechase.

But as McCurdy said, "I'm not sure I like the idea of looking real good as a bridesmaid."