Individuals Notch Top-Six Finishes

Although most of its athletes had yet to compete this year, Harvard’s track and field team didn’t miss a step as it opened the indoor season last weekend.

The Crimson stayed close to home at the Reggie Lewis Center on Saturday for the first annual Jay Carisella Track and Field Invitational, capping off the day with three individual wins and two IC4A qualifiers. Overall, the men’s and women’s squads boasted 21 top-six finishes on the day.

“It was a great performance,” co-captain Jack Brady said. “Normally this [first meet] is about shaking the rust off and getting back into the swing of competition…but we had a bunch of guys go out and run really great times.”

Sophomores Darcy Wilson and Stephen Gelonek posted the best efforts on the track, finishing first in the 3,000 meters and 55-meter dash, respectively. Harvard coach Jason Saretsky credited Wilson with a tremendous showing, considering that the middle-distance runner was overextended in the long race. Wilson’s time of 8:38.34 earned him the win by a slim 0.47 seconds.

Gelonek completed his race in just 6.47 seconds, a personal best for the second-year sprinter and good for an IC4A qualifying time.

“[Gelonek] was moving real quick,” co-captain Justin Grinstead said. “He was looking good during the race.”

Grinstead also ran well in his first competition, earning third at 800 meters, but it was his co-captain Brady that stepped up early in the season. The senior weight-thrower hurled a personal-best 17.85 meters, earning second place and an IC4A berth.

“At the first meet, you never know what’s going to happen,” Brady said. “You’ve got to be happy when you get a personal best. It shows that I’ve made progress and that I’m ahead of where I was at the end of last season.”

The entire squad seemed well prepared for competition, as a number of other Crimson athletes posted noteworthy results.

Junior Ablorde Ashigbi followed just behind Brady with a fourth-place finish in the weight throw, while freshmen Jared Squires and Weishen Mead finished third and fifth in the 1,000 meters and the mile, respectively. The 4 x 400 relay team also fared well, as the A entry placed fifth with a time of 3:25.38.

On the women’s side, Harvard demonstrated its depth with 13 top-six finishes. Junior Dina Emde led the pack, winning the high jump by clearing 1.67 meters. Her performance evoked the Crimson’s strong legacy in the event, following the graduation of four-time All-American Becky Christensen ’09.

“Dina Emde continued a great tradition in the high jump coming away with the win,” Saretksy said.

Sophomores Shannon Conway (400 meters) and Kim O’Donnell (800) finished second in their respective races, while junior Katrina Drayton doubled up on the day, taking third at 55 meters with a time of 7.34 seconds and sixth in the 200. Freshman Brianne Holland-Stergar also shouldered multiple events, finishing as runner-up in the shot put with a mark of 12.34 meters and earning sixth in the weight throw. Fellow rookies Meghan Ferreira and Shannon Watt enjoyed promising starts to their Harvard careers as well, taking third in the 55-meter hurdles and shot put, respectively.

“This meet definitely met our expectations in terms of getting a first competition under our belt,” Saretsky said. “[It’s important] especially for the freshmen, just to get a taste of what college track and field is all about.”

But enthusiasm for meaningful competition was not limited to newcomers. Such strong performances across all four classes indicated the squad’s anticipation of the indoor and outdoor seasons.

“We train all fall, and by this time everyone is ready to go,” Brady said. “There’s an excitement about moving forward and starting to compete, where we get to see the results of our work.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.