DORCHESTER--Last Saturday, Harvard's cross country teams sent a message, and it rang loud and clear. They proved that overall, they were among the best in Boston.

The women's team placed first in the Greater Boston Championships in front of more than 200 spectators here at Franklin Park. The men's junior varsity team placed first as well, and the men's varsity took second.

Julie Grialou, the first woman in for Harvard, returned second in the five-kilometer race with a time of 17:03. Lise Vansen, Romney Resney, Christine Lount and Kathleen Toner followed.

Although Boston College placed first overall in the men's race, the Harvard team turned in a fine overall performance. Crimson freshman Tim Langen--the first Harvard runner to cross the finish line--placed sixth overall in the 10-kilometer race with a time of 32:22. He was followed by Jon Lewis, Captain Brian Cann, Brian Davis and Rich Glew.

The men's JV team won its race led by Richard Kassissieh, who finished first. Harvard captured most of the front spots, with Timothy Harte in second, Keith Larney fifth, Doug Mclellan sixth and Steve Kern seventh.

The results showed a marked improvement over last year, when the women's team took third place and the men's fourth, but nobody seemed very surprised at this year's success.

"You can never expect to win a race like this, but we were very confident. We were the team to beat," said Toner, the women's team captain.

Track manager Colleen Collins was even more confident: "We knew the women would win, and the men have been doing better too."

Cross Country Coach Ed Sheehan said he was very pleased with all three races: "The men ran aggressively and very confidently."