It was the best of times and the worst of times for the Harvard track and field team last weekend at the Heptagonal Championships at West Haven, Conn.

The women's team snatched an unexpeceted second place finish, but the men's team pulled up in eighth place, defeating only Columbia and Cornell.

Navy and Cornell successfully defended their titles on the men's and women's side, respectively.

The Harvard women racked up 100 points on the weekend, far behind Cornell's 160 but just enough to squeak past Princeton (99.5 points) and Pennsylvania (99).

The final standings were up in the air until the last race, the 4x400 relay.

The Crimson only needed a sixth place finish to secure second place, but Harvard had to do it without the services of anchor-woman senior Tanya Weidinger, who withdrew because of a hamstring in jury.

Sophomore Kristina Lynch filled in for Weidinger with a gutsy anchor leg, crossing the line in sixth place.

"We had to stay close, and Christina came up big for us," women's Co-Captain Rita Raju said.

Harvard's surprising second place finish was a tribute to the exceptional performances across the squad.

A total of 20 athletes scored points for the Crimson.

"Everybody really contributed," Raju said. "There were so many personal records being set. It was amazing."

Co-Captain Cathy Griffin led the charge, winning three events and setting meet records in two of them. The records fell in the discus (166'4") and hammer throw (177'0"), and she also won the shot put (47'8.5").

Griffin won a total of nine Heptagonal titles in her Harvard career.

"She's been amazing for all four years," Raju said. "It was nice to top it off with a big finish."

Other clutch performances cited by Raju were sophomore Alexia Cruz, Lynch and sophomore Alais Griffin.