SPORTS BRIEF: Both Crimson Squads Head to New Haven To Face Conference Rival

In last year’s edition of the annual Harvard-Yale cross country meet, the Crimson’s men’s squad dominated the Bulldogs, while the women’s team fell in decisive fashion. But as Harvard heads to New Haven on Friday, both races appear up for grabs.

On the women’s side, the Crimson is fresh off a victorious performance at last weekend’s Nassaney Invitational.

If Harvard hopes to knock off Yale this Friday, it will rely on similarly strong showings from junior Morgan Kelly and seniors Briana Jackucewicz and Samantha Silva, both of whom placed in the top five at the meet.

“We had a really strong season opener, and I know Yale did too,” Crimson coach Jason Saretsky said. “It should be fun to see how we match up against them.”

The majority of Harvard’s men’s team did not run the full race at last weekend’s meet. Instead, the squad ran the first five kilometers of the 8k course to get race experience and did not post a team score.

On the other hand, the Bulldogs’ men’s squad had an impressive season opener last weekend, winning the Fordham Fiasco meet.

Yale’s striking outing caused them to leapfrog Harvard in the rankings. Going into Friday’s meet, the Bulldogs sit in the No. 9 spot in the USTFCCCA Northeast region rankings, just above the No. 10 Crimson.

According to Saretsky, the formula for the Harvard men is simple.

“The key for the men is going to be discipline,” Saretsky said. “If we can run with discipline, we should come out on top.”

The ability of the Crimson’s runners to keep their poise will be especially important due to the competitive nature of the rivalry.

“Two teams line up on the starting line,” Saretsky said. “Time doesn’t matter. Everything is thrown out the window other than ‘Can you beat the person next to you?’”