Brown's womens' cross country team probably saw more of its new course than it had anticipated yesterday, because Harvard's striders made the Bruins eat dirt.

The Crimson scored just 23 points--only eight away from a perfect score of 15--to best Brown by nine points in Harvard's first dual meet of the year.

Sophomore Jenny Stricker took first in 18:15, Classmate Kathy Goode followed close behind to finish third' with a time of 18:36. Ellen Gallager, who took last semester off from running, finished fourth. Placing sixth for the harriers was freshman Leslie Cooper, with a time of 18:58.

For the Bruins' part, Carolyn Booth finished second in 18:25, adding only two to Brown's 32 point total.

On an especially warm October day, the harriers tackled a looping course of grass, asphalt and wood trails by running in small packs. Brown attempted a similar strategy, but Harvard broke through the Bruins' small groups, leaving behind several low-finishing Brown stragglers.

Crimson Captain Wiley McCarthy said "the team performed especially well as a group. It's hard to think of cross country as a team sport, but our pack running really worked well today." The women's 3.1 mile course was lined with cheering Harvard men who had just won their competition.

The harriers took their victory in stride. "We're not really that keyed up for these small meets," Goode said. "Coach Fikes is really getting us to train hardest for Eastern regional competition, and hopefully Nationals.

Two of last weekend's top performers were missing from the road trip to Brown. Lois Brommer and Kathy Wiley were given a rest in anticipation of an easy victory.