Track and Field Takes Second in HYP Meet

In what was arguably the most important competition before the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, the Harvard men’s and women’s track and field teams welcomed Ancient Eight rivals Princeton and Yale to Cambridge for the annual H-Y-P meet on Saturday.

Both teams had success in their preview of Ivy League competition. The men and women each took second, with 36 and 54 points respectively, behind the champion Tigers, who took home the team titles in both events with 125 and 87 points, respectively.

The Elis finished third, with 22 points for the men and 41 for the women.

While the team was unable to claim the title at home, various individuals took home accolades led by sophomore Nikki Okwelogu, who continued her impressive campaign by breaking her own conference record in the shot put.

The Fresno, Calif., native threw a mark of 16.51 meters, 0.12 meters further than the previous record and two meters better than second-place Karleh Wilson from Yale.

Okwelogu wasn’t the only field athlete to take home the title, as classmate Joshua Whitener took home the title with an 18.41 meter mark in the weight throw, while rookie Floriaine Kameni took home the triple jump with an 11.7 meter leap.

“I was very surprised by the throw,” Okwelogu said. “I almost didn’t release it, [but] I then throw and then I look at it…. I was so shocked. I didn’t know it was a good throw.”

In addition to the three titles, there were various runner-up finishes earned by the Crimson. Junior Allison Morrison claimed a personal best in the long jump with a mark of 5.49 meters and classmate Raegan Nizdil claimed her runner-up finish with a jump of 1.70 meters.

Senior Taylor DuPont took second in the women’s weight throw with a mark of 16.8 meters, while on the men’s side, sophomore Efe Uwaifo claimed runner-up in his first meet of the year with a 15.36 meter triple jump mark.

Harvard’s success continued on the track, where the Crimson swept the top three spots in the women’s 60 meter hurdles, as junior Autumne Franklin won the event with a time of 8.61. Franklin was followed by sophomore Jackie Modesett and junior Madison Hansen.

The women’s 60 meter dash would prove to be fruitful as well, as senior Danielle Barbian’s 7.51 sprint won her the title, with classmate Ashely Collinsworth finishing just behind her at 7.60.

The sprinters’ success would continue as junior Christi Scott outran the competition from the start to claim the 200 meter title with a time of 24.89. The 4 x 440 yard relay team consisting of Scott, Franklin, Collinsworth and senior Gabrielle Scott would also be triumphant with a 3:45.92 finish.

The performances by the team drew praise from head coach Jason Saretsky, who believes that the team will be even better at Heps.

“We’ve got a lot of talented student-athletes that are ready to compete at a high level,” Saretsky said. “They know what it’s like to compete at that level and I feel confident we’ll be seeing a very different performance when we’re back at Gordon in two weeks.”

On the men’s side, junior Tom Purnell claimed the 3000 meter title with an 8:08.67 finish, while freshman Jonas Aranda would run a close 800 meter run, finishing in second place with a personal best, and Harvard all time-sixth best, 1:50.89 mark.

The rookie would close the gap between him and first place finisher Bradley Paternostro of Princeton in the last 100 meters as the crowd willed the two on, but would fall just short of overtaking him at the line, finishing a mere 0.11 seconds behind the Princeton athlete.

The distance honors continued as senior Connor Reck took second in the 1,000 meter run with a 2:30.13 finish, less than a second behind James Randon from Yale in another finish which came down to the wire.

Another runner-up finish would be attained in the 4 x 880 yard relay as senior Nephat Maratim, Arnada, Reck and senior Billy Looney would finish with a time of 7:40.75. Maritim would also take home a personal best in the mile with a time of 4:10.75.

Captain Jarvis Harris led the male sprinters with a third place finish in the 60 meter hurdles while freshman Ahmed Obed placed third in the 200 meter race.

While the team was able to have impressive performances throughout the weekend, Okwelogu believes that the team has the potential for an even better showing.

“We didn’t have the best showing as a team this past weekend,” Okwelogu said. “I just want everybody to do what I know they can do…I want to cheer on teammates and I know they can contribute.”

With the team not yet at full strength, there is reason to believe that the Crimson can improve greatly in the two weeks of preparation before hosting Heps on February 28th. A big part of this preparation will be the reaction the team has to HYP.

After being exposed to the level of talent that some of their Ivy League rivals have, the meet served as a wake-up call for Harvard and the response which the athletes give will go a long way in being able to claim the Ancient Eight title on both sides.

“This [was] definitely a good opportunity to see what happens if we’re not firing at full strength,” Saretsky said. “I know our student athletes are going to take this past weekend’s competitions and really focus on what we need to do to be in a better position come Heps.”