Cambridge in April has as good a claim to the title "Windy city" as Chicago ever did, and the unnelling effect of Soldiers Field only serves to heighten that claim. The Crimson harriers battled that wind, injuries, and perennial foe Northeastern to win their opening home meet yesterday, 96-67.

Ironically, the field events gave the tracksters their initial boost, reversing the usual roles on this primarily running-oriented squad.

Tri-captain Tom Lenz led the way in the hammer throw, setting a new stadium record of 206 ft., 8 in., an awesome early-season distance, and fell one foot shy of his own school record.

Speak up

Soft-spoken Irishman Colin Ball withstood back injuries to place second, and London neighbor Gus Udo chipped in by winning the long jump to give Crimson a solid lead.

The Huskies seemed on the verge of a comeback as they swept first and second in both the steeple chase and the 1500 meter distance events, as well as winning the 110 high hurdles and the 400 meter run.

But Harvard regained its lost momentum in the crowd-pleasing 100 yard dash, as junior Peter Nsiah and tri-captain Joe Salvo blazed to a one-two finish.

Guess who

The event of the day came in the 800 meter run. The ailing Adam Dixon, a surprise entry for the tracksters, stepped onto the track having not run a step for the past three weeks.

Dixon hung in the backfield until the final half lap, when he broke out in that familiar stride and flew by the pack to an easy win and an exultant team cheering section. Teammate Thad McNulty followed Dixon in at second, smiling all the way.

The Crimson had little trouble from then on. A sweep in the 200 meter run, led by junior Mare Chapus, a victory in the grueling 5000 from iron-sided freshman Eric Schuler, and an inspiring win in the 400 meter hurdles by spunky newcomer Kim Stephens secured a Harvard victory before the final relay.

Greg's Brother

Stephens, a 5'6'' freshman from Conrad, Arkansas, demonstrated to the crowd that a fast start, speed in the straightaways, and classical hurdling form can ably compensate for any height advantage his opponents might have.

Assistant track coach Frank Haggarty has been running Stephens in flat sprints to maximize his running speed, but the yardling feels hurdling is what he does best: "The 400 (hurdles) seems to be the race for me," said Stephens, who added that coach Haggarty's lane strategy helped him "psyche out" is Northeastern opponent, passing him on the inside early on and cruising home to victory.

The harriers face Brown and Dartmouth in a tri-meet this Saturday at Providence, with an optimism born of recent triumph.