W. Harriers Finish 3rd at Heps; Men 6th

Led by Meredith Rainey's record-setting performance in the 400 meters, the Harvard women's track team mounted a comeback yesterday at the Heptagonal Outdoor Championships in New York.

But while the Crimson improved from a first-day total of 17 points to an overall mark of 87 points, Harvard finished third, unable to catch up to first-place Princeton (145) and second-place Dartmouth (111).

After collecting only two points Saturday, the Harvard men's team placed sixth in the competition with 45 points, well behind Princeton's top score of 135.

The Women

Rainey set a Heptagonals record in the 400 meters with a time of 52.76 and also won the 800 meters in 2:08.43. Teammate Beth Pfefferle recorded a mark of 2:11.32 to place third in the 800.

Suzanne Jones won the only other event for Harvard, the 5000, placing first in a time of 16:19.02 and finished third (9:39.99) in the 3000.

Other top finishes for Harvard included Dorcas Mamboleo's third-place performance in the 100 meters (12.56) and the 4x100 relay team's time of 47.76, also good for third place.

The Men

Harvard placed first in two events, the discus and the 400 meters, thanks to Nic Sweeney and John Mee.

Sweeney hurled the discus 179-ft., 5-in. to capture the top spot in the event, while Mee outhustled his opponents, finishing his event with a time of 47.99.

Freshman Derek Horner placed third in the 100 meters (10.84) and 200 meters (22.06). The 4x100 relay team's fourth-place finish in 42.31 was the highest Harvard placed in any other event.

Both teams will close out their seasons in the next two weeks, when the women travel to George Mason for the ECAC Championships May 12-14, and the men go to the IC4A Championships at Villanova May 18-21.