The never-ending Darlene Beckford show dominated the stage at Princeton Saturday, but the Harvard women's track team managed only a fourth-place finish in the Ivy Championships.

A ferocious Princeton squad gobbled up all opponents on its way to an easy win.

Beckford raced away with a dazzling hat trick, garnering firsts in the 800- and 1500-meter events before anchoring the victorious two-mile relay team. For the second week in a row, meet officials didn't have to think twice before naming Beckford the day's outstanding runner.

Cruising

The Crimson team as a whole was cruising along in second place before it tripped over the 400 - and 3000-meter hurdles. "We simply didn't have the bodies; the injuries have hurt us all season," co-captain Susan Harper said, explaining the last-minute slump which dropped Harvard well behind the charging Tigers.

"We did suprisingly well considering the circumstances," Harper added. The sprinting corps, in particular, remains crippled as Karen Gray and Pat Gopaul, among others, rest aching bones.

Par for the Course

Despite the team's unextraordinary finish, two Crimson competitors did join the group which will represent Harvard at the Eastern Championships in two weeks. Wiley McCarthy qualified with a third place in the 5000-meter run (17:56.2) and Ellen Hart startled everyone with a 35:51 victory over 10,000 meters. Neither woman had raced at those distances before Saturday.

Hart, whose time also qualified her for the Nationals, said Kristin Linsley may have been the unsung hero of the day for Harvard. Linsley blazed to personal bests in three events, including the two-mile run, which she won.

Sue St. Louis highlighted the Crimson effort in the field events with a third-place toss in the discus.