Anne Sullivan, Rhode Island's greatest contribution since the Providence statehouse (the world's third largest unsupported marble dome), struck a blow for freshmen everywhere yesterday by running to a course-record-breaking first place finish in yesterday's Radcliffe cross-country meet against UMass and Brandeis. UMass pulled through, however, and won the meet, 28-35-0.

Sullivan's winning finish of 17:54 was far ahead of the field. UMass runner Jane Welzel placed a distant second at 18:24, followed by teammates Tina Francerio (18:41) and Priscilla Wilson (19:06). Sarah Linsley, Carla Amble and Kat Taylor rounded out the Radcliffe top four with respective finishes of fifth, seventh and eighth.

Because two of the original five Brandeis runners dropped out along the way, the Judges registered no score for the event. A full five finishing runners are required for a team to score.

Sullivan's achievement signalled not a new beginning for Radcliffe track, now in its second official season, but rather a continuation of past glories. Last year, after an inauspicious start, the fledgling team went on to sweep the Greater Boston Championships, the Big Three Meet (where the 'Cliffe ran an incredible 1-2-3-4-5- finish) and the Ivy League Championships.

If possible, things look even better this year. With Sullivan leading the pack, Radcliffe women have beaten Brandeis, a team which drubbed them last year, and run much more closely with UMass than they did last year.

The rest of the team won't be long behind the freshman from Cranston. Cross-country runners tend to show improvement as the season progresses.