The cold and biting wind was reminiscent of winter, but it was the performance of the Harvard track teams that brought February to mind.
The Crimson's victory over Dartmouth and Brown on the Harvard outdoor track Saturday afternoon recalled the squad's indoor triumphs earlier this year.
The Crimson men's victory in the 4x400-meter relay gave them the 87-81 victory over the Big Green, while the Bruins finished a distant third with 35. For the women, the outcome of the contest was a foregone conclusion long before the last relay. The Crimson amassed 77 points, Dartmouth 60, and Brown 33.
Saturday's performance was by far the best for the men since they edged out Dartmouth to win the indoor Heptagonal Championship in February. With just three weeks until the outdoor Heps are held here in Cambridge, the triumph was a needed morale boost and should make the Crimson the favorite at the Championship meet.
"I see the meet as a turning point in the outdoor season," Co-Captain John Perkins said. "For the first time since February, we performed as a team."
Saturday was the first time the women's distance corps competed at full strength all year. The return of standouts Kristin Perini, Jenny Stricker and Kate Wiley helped the Crimson avenge its loss to the Big Green during the indoor campaign.
In the field events, the Harvard jumpers--both men and women--dominated their events. Senior Mark Henry--who was entered in five events--won the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash, and anchored the victorious 4x100-meter relay.
Pulling extra duty took its toll in the cold weather however, and Henry pulled out of his last event, the 200 after cramping up
Junior Doug Boyd also had quite an afternoon. While competing simultaneously in the triple and high jump, he won the latter event with a seven-foot effort and finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 46 ft., 7 3/4-in., a personal best.
Junior Theresa Moore won the long jump, while freshman Jane Grim and senior Janet Judge took first and second in the triple jump, The Crimson also took the second, third, and fourth spots in the high jump.
The hurdling and middle distance corps looked good, Co-Captain Steve Ezeji-Okoye set a Harvard record in the 110 high hurdles with his time of 14.17. He also won the 400-meter hurdles and ran legs on the two winning relay teams.
Saturday, the thinclads head down to New Haven for what should be a tightly contested dual meet with Yale and their last Ivy League competition before the Heps.
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