With that showing, the rookie sprinter smashed his previous personal best time by better than 1.5 seconds.

It was also Harvard's only first-place finish of the competion.

In the next event after McLean-Foreman's victory, sophomore John Traugott earned a second-place finish in the 1,000-meter run, crossing the line at 2.29.83.

"I wasn't expecting [this much success], but I knew we were capable of it," Baker said. "Lots of runners just stepped it up and ran better than they were supposed to, which is what needed to happen."

While the Crimson runners were exceeding expectations on the track, Kraay was setting his own personal record in the shot put

Though Princeton's Scott Denbo put first place out of reach with a toss of 17.85 meters, Kraay outdueled Cornell's Brett Coffing for second place in a battle to the finish with personal best throw of 17.01.

"[Coffing] got me on my last throw and I got him on my last throw," Kraay said. "That's what it's all about--outcompeting the other guys."

As the close of competition neared yesterday, it seemed Baker's misfortune had been all but forgotten--except perhaps by Baker, who now has only one more chance (at IC4As next weekend) to qualify for nationals in the 3000.