Records are always worth savoring.

Roger Maris still owns the record for most home runs in a season (61), which he set in 1961. Bob Beamon still holds the world's longest long jump, a record he set in 1960.

And, for a short time yesterday, Harvard senior Jenny Stricker entered a group of record-holders as she led the Harvard women's cross country team to an impressive dual meet victory over Dartmouth at Franklin Park.

Stricker covered the five-kilometer course in a swift 17:37, one second faster than rival Lisa Welch's course record set last week at the Greater Boston Championships.

How did the Crimson racer feel after setting the record?

"Good. Really good!" said an elated Stricker after the race. "Good, good, good, good, good!"

Stricker wasn't the only one who felt so good.

The Crimson ran its best race of the season to beat the Big Green, 26 to 32.

Freshman Jody Dushay ran a personal-best time for the Franklin Park, cutting 33 seconds off her previous mark to finish fourth in 18:46.

Close behind was Lois Brommer (sixth place, 19:00), who ran her first race since coming back from a bout with mono.

Captain Leslie Cooper turned in an excellent race for seventh place (19:01). Katie Toner and Alison Keller were eighth and ninth, respectively.

Stricker made the race look easy, as she burst away from the pack for a 5:38 first mile, 13 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack.

She extended the lead until the finish and grabbed a 34-second victory over Dartmouth's Moira Teevens.

But, no sooner had Stricker settled into the routine of being a record holder than Welch--who was running a meet for Boston University--reset the mark with a time of 17:24.

Stricker will have her chance to reclaim the record next week, when the Crimson squares of in the Big Three meet against Yale and Princeton.