Harriers Stumble at Four-School Meet; Gompers Glides at Meeting of Minds

East met West, Midwest and South at Franklin Park Saturday--and the West conquered all.

The Harvard men's and women's cross country teams hosted the annual, season-opening "Meeting of the Minds"--a four-way meet featuring runners from Stanford, Northwestern and Rice.

In the end, traditional cross country powerhouse Cardinal triumphed in both men's and women's team competition.

On the women's side, Rice's Pam Klassen--an All-American in cross country, indoor and outdoor track--led all the way on the 5000-meter course to capture first-place honors. Klassen's time of 16:55 placed her four seconds ahead of a wave of four Stanford women who swept across the finish line in quick succession.

The Cardinal's 2-3-4-5 finish pushed it to the top of the heap with 24 points, compared to 45 for Northwestern, 67 for Rice and 95 for Harvard.

The Crimson's first woman finisher was sophomore Jody Dushay, whose 15th-place finish (18:12) was five spots behind Stanford's fifth runner.

Gompers Romps, Stanford Squeaks

The men's race featured a runaway victory for Harvard sensation Paul Gompers and a close, two-point victory for Stanford in the team race.

Gompers, who is returning to school after a year off, ran away from the field at the gun and sprinted to an easy victory. He finished the 5.2-mile course in 25:27, 26 seconds ahead of second-place Jon Warren of Rice.

Stanford and Rice battled it out for the team title, with the Cardinal (41 points) emerging victorious. Rice (43) finished second, followed by Northwestern (55) and Harvard (86).

Brian Cann (19th place) was Harvard's second runner across the line, with Andy Mendelsohn (21st), Mike Curtis (22nd) and Seth Goldman (23rd) rounding out the Crimson scoring.