Harriers Top Huskies; Rojas Sets Pace

The Harvard cross country team limped into Franklin Park with seven injured veterans yesterday and ran away with a 21-38 victory over Northeastern.

Sophomore Rick Rojas ran first in the 5.5 mile race with a time of 26.57. Rojas exchanged leads throughout the race with Captain Mike Koerner, who ran second. Koerner ran the race despite a nagging foot injury. He was timed at 27:02.

Northeastern

Northeastern took third and fourth places with sophomore Bill Rower and freshman Ken Flanders. Both were timed at 27:39, quite a way behind both Rojas and Koerner.

The key to the harriers' victory was the squad's depth. Harvard clinched the meet by capturing five of the next six places.

The three other Harvard scorers were John Quirk, Marshall Jones and Freddy Linsk. Quirk was running despite a leg injury. He was timed at 28:02. Jones and Linsk were right behind, clocked at 28:06 and 28:08, respectively.

Northeastern's Dave Johnson took eighth place, but newcomer Jerry Hines ran a close ninth and was followed by Crimson veteran Tom New.

Coach Bill McCurdy was pleased with the team's performance. "Sophomores Rojas, Linsk and Hines looked very, very good," he said after the meet. "Couple their performance with all the problems we've had, and it adds up to a very good race."

McCurdy said he believes that Rojas was only the fourth sophomore in the history of Harvard to win in an opening meet. "Walter Hewlett who did it a couple of years ago was the first sophomore in 24 years. Koerner did it in his sophomore year, and now Rojas," he said.

Quirk's performance was particularly impressive in view of his injury. "He was injured, and the fact that he could run so well is heartening," McCurdy said.

Yardlings Win Big

The freshmen captured the first four spots and swept to a 16-47 victory over the Huskies' freshmen. Winner in the race was Jim Keefe with a time of 16:02 over the 3.2 mile course.