Thinclads Gear Up to Face Huskies; Dixon Out for Year With Foot Injury

Two years ago, the Harvard men's track team hosted a Northeastern squad which coasted into the ITT with a 36-meet winning streak. The Huskies left Harvard with a one-meet losing skein.

The Harvard-Northeastern track rivalry continued last year with a two-point, 69-67 Crimson loss, and Saturday afternoon the two squads go at it again. But this time around, Harvard coach Bill McCurdy's unbeaten charges will have to turn in a stellar performance to oust the favored Huskies and turn in their fourth straight win.

To pull an upset, the Crimson will have to overcome the absence of All-American Adam Dixon. The middle-distance sensation ripped a tendon in his foot in a meet against Army earlier this season and will not be able to start training for at least four months.

Northeastern--with a 62-5 record over the past decade--is the strongest competitor Harvard has faced this season. During that span, the Huskies copped six Greater Boston Championships and seven New England Indoor titles.

The injury-racked thinclads' performance will depend on the status of number-one long and triple jumper Gus Udo--who may make his long waited return from a knee injury--and the health of high jumper Mark Henry. The Huskies look very solid in all the field events, with Dave Julian (high jump), Russ Hartman (long and triple jump) and Scot Pladel (long and triple jump), all back from last year's squad. A group of promising freshmen should add to the Huskies' depth in the field events.

The Huskies will also be tough to beat in the pole vault. Northeastern sophomore Don Heyburn vaulted over 16 feet last year as a freshman and hopes to break 17 feet this year.

Without Dixon, the Crimson is going to find it difficult to stop the Huskies' co-captain Jeff Cullinane, who can run the 800, the 1000 or the 1500.

The shorter distances won't be a piece of cake, either. Northeastern sophomore Randy Jenkins set an ITT record in the 440 last year, and will probably run the 400 Saturday, leaving the Crimson's Scott Murrer to come through in the 500. In the 3000, Harvard is counting on Bruce Weber--who qualified for the IC4As earlier this season--Eric Schuler and Scott McNulty.

All in all, the still-unbdefeated Huskies are as strong if not stronger than last year, while the Harvard squad seems to be weakening. But then again, the Crimson thinclads were supposed to lose to army before vacation, and they were supposed to lose to Northeastern two years ago. For this squad, "supposed to" doesn't really count for much.