Track and Field Cruises to Victories Over Bulldogs

­With both bragging rights and spots in the historic Harvard-Yale vs. Oxford-Cambridge meet on the line, the Harvard men’s and women’s track and field teams once again delivered over the rival Elis.

The women took home an eighth-consecutive victory over Yale with a score of 89.5 to 66.5, while the men captured their fifth-straight win over the Bulldogs, 99-62. The winner of each individual event was awarded the opportunity to compete versus the Ivy school’s British counterparts this summer, while the remaining slots will be at the coaches discretion.

“I thought the team competed well,” Crimson coach Jason Saretsky said. “It was good to come away with the double victory…it was great to see us take care of business.”
Competing with strong winds throughout the day, the Crimson sprinters found the day to be a fruitful one.

On the women’s side, senior Danielle Barbian and co-captain Ashley Collinsworth placed first and seconds, respectively, in the 100 meter dash with times of 11.54 and 11.58. Collinsworth took home the 200 meter dash heat as well, clocking in at 24.37.

In the hurdles, sophomore Jackie Modesett took first in 100 meters with a time of 13.67, while junior Madison Hansen clocked in third at 14.59. Sophomore Jade Miller took home the 400 meter hurdles title with a 1:00.73 finish, over 11 seconds faster than her Yale counterpart.

The Harvard men exhibited their strength in the sprints as well, taking first through seventh in the 100 meter dash. Rookie Malcolm Johnson led the pack with a 10.50 finish, with junior David Gawlas and freshman Alexander Moore behind him at 10.82 and 10.83, respectively.

Rookie Matthew Hurst won the 200 meter heat with a time of 21.53, while co-captain Jarvis Harris posted a 14.23 mark to take home the 110 meter hurdles title. First-year Jay Hebert finished behind Jarvis with a personal best 14.47 finish, which was good enough for third.

The men also did damage in the relays, with Johnson, Hurst, Harris, and sophomore Efe Uwaifo teaming up to take the 4x100 relay title with a time of 41.63, the ninth-fastest time in Crimson history. In the 4x400 meter relay, Harris, Hurst, Moore, and Alex Kirby teamed up to claim the victory with a time of 3:30.59.

Harris, who took home three total first place accolades, was pleased with the results but believes there is still work to be done as the team looks towards the Outdoor Heptagonals in three weeks.

“I’m happy with the results…but they weren’t my best performances,” Harris said. “I’m happy, on one side, coming out with Harvard winning over Yale…there’s still improvement that can be made…we only have three meets until Heps, and we need to be at our best.”

On the women’s side, junior Christi Scott, Miller, junior Allison Morrison and Modesett teamed up in the 4x400 meter relay, finishing in first with a time of 3:45.00. The 4x100 meter team would be disqualified due to a botched handoff in the race.

In the distance portion, the women came through with strong performances as junior Paige Kouba took the 1,500 meter race with a time of 4:39.62, with sophomore Sarah Gillespie clocking in just behind her at 4:39.88. Senior Whitney Thornburg placed second in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 9:58.79, while classmate Molly Renfer took runner-up in the 800 meters with a time of 2:13.33.

On the men’s side, freshman Jonas Aranda took runner-up honors with a 1:55.11 finish in the 800 meter run. Senior Will Geiken took second in a close 5,000 meter race—clocking in at 14:48.52—just over a second behind Yale’s Kevin Dooney.

In the 1,500 meter race, senior Dan Milechman placed second with a time of 3:55.25, with junior Tom Purnell just behind him in fourth place, clocking at 3:56.23.

Though Saretsky was impressed by the solid performances all around, the coach believes there is still room for improvement.

“We’re getting there,” Saretsky said. “I still feel like we’ve got a lot of work to do, [and] don’t really feel like we’re firing on all cylinders, but we’re certainly heading in the right direction.”

The winning performances weren’t limited to the track, as the field athletes provided various personal records and top-10 Harvard records.

In the women’s high jump, sophomore Raegan Nizdil and senior Ann Giebelhaus tied for first with leaps of 1.65 meters, while Morrison claimed the long jump with a mark of 5.73 meters.

On the men’s side, Uwaifo claimed the long jump and triple jump with marks of 7.09 and 12.9 meters, respectively. In the high jump, junior Spencer Lemons’ 1.99 meter mark was good enough to take home the title.

The pole vault also proved to be successful for the Crimson, as sophomore Andrew Roney claimed a personal record with a 5.01 meter leap, the fourth-best finish in Harvard history. On the women’s side, rookie Marlena Sabatino earned a personal record and the program sixth-best height at 3.65 meters.

Sophomores Nikki Okwelogu and Julian Nunally took home a pair of victories in the shot put and discus. Okwelogu set a school record best in the outdoor shot put with a mark of 16.58 meters, continuing her indoor success.

In the javelin, Hannah Meyer and Richard Bradley took home their titles with marks of 47.14 and 55.16 meters, respectively.

In total, 24 of the Harvard entries qualified to the intercontinental competition in June, making sure the Crimson is well represented this summer in what will be the collegiate swan song for seniors such as Harris.

“I’m very pleased that the majority of this Harvard-Yale combined team will be my very own Harvard teammates,” Harris said. “For me, as a senior that makes my graduation and consummation of my collegiate career that much sweeter.”

—Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at julio.fierro@thecrimson.com.