The women's cross country team just keeps getting better and better.

After coming in fourth at the Fordham Invitational two weeks ago and third in the Boston Invitational last weekend, the squad ran its way to a commanding victory over opponents Brown and Northeastern at Franklin Park yesterday afternoon.

Harvard placed first with an over-all score of 18, well ahead of Brown's 48 and Northeastern's 77.

Junior Jenny Martin (17:52) and freshman phenom Margaret Schotte (18:04) had a one-two finish for the Crimson.

Schotte was pleased with the outcome of only her second intercollegiate race.

"It was a great race. It was exciting," Schotte said. "It was a little slower than last week, since the competition wasn't as tough at the start."

Even with her fine performance, Schotte thought she saw room for improvement.

"I was a little disappointed that my time didn't improve, but I came in second, so I guess I can't complain," Schotte said.

Schotte noted it was very challenging for her to beat Brown runner Kristen Williams, who stayed with her on the final stretch and finished third.

Martin and Schotte joined five other Crimson runners who finished in the top 10.

The women's team has at least three races left in their season, and given its upward momentum, the team has confidence as it heads into the Harvard-Princeton-Yale meet (on October 14).

Beyond that Ivy challenge, the team's next Franklin Park race will be the Eastern Conference Championships on November 11, which will determine whether individual Crimson runners or the team as a whole will go on to compete at the NCAA Championships at Iowa State on November 20.

In order for the women's team to make Nationals, it will have to defeat Ivy rival Dartmouth, to which it fell last week at the Boston Invitational.

But given the team's impressive finishes over the last few weeks, the team is confident about its chances in the all-important second half of its season.

The Men