Carswell, Lonergan Form One-Two Punch

While most roommates share no more than a bedroom and bathroom, juniors Ian Carswell and Killian Lonergan have also proven to be inseparable on the race course.

The dynamic duo has emerged as two of the Ivy League's best runners, and is the principal reason why the Harvard men's cross-country team enters the season's most important race, today's Heptagonal Championships at New York's Van Cortlandt Park, as a threat to win its first championship since 1977.

In the season-opening Fordham Invitational, for instance, Carswell (25:28) and Lonergan (25:42) finished one-two overall.

At the following week's Boston Invitational, the results were strikingly similar: Carswell finished first (23:51), while Lonergan was third (24:03).

And, at the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet two weeks ago, which the Crimson won, Carswell was once again the winner (setting a course-record of 24:18), while Lonergan placed second (25:01).

Despite their overall success, each has taken a vastly different route to the top.

Carswell, who hails from Ontario, Canada, never ran competitively until the end of his junior year in high school, spending the previous 12 years playing hockey.

He was inspired to try running when he saw how easily be outraced most of his hockey teammates on their runs.

"I just found that I was a lot more competitive in running than I was in hockey, and that I had a little bit more potential," he said.

Carswell wound up at Harvard largely through what he calls "a fluke." While racing at the Canadian Nationals in December of his senior year in high school, he was spotted by a Harvard team member, who recommended him to coach Frank Haggerty.

Since his arrival, Carswell has been one of the Crimson's most consistent runners, culminating in his election as captain this year.

As a sophomore, he placed first overall at the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet and fifth at the Heptagonals, earning Harvard's first berth in the NCAA Championships since 1986. He was also named to the All-Ivy League team.

"I just go out to win--that's my main concern," he says. "I'm very goal-oriented and competitive, and I don't let outside factors influence my training and performance. I run to compete, not for enjoyment."

As meteoric as Carswell's rise has been, Lonergan has endured a slow, injury-plagued path to success.

A native of Dublin, Ireland, he has run competitively since 1983, in addition to playing rugby, golf, and tennis until his senior year of high school.

Shortly after arriving at Harvard, however, Lonergan's injury woes began. After just four cross-country races in the fall of his freshman year, be developed a stress fracture in his shins, sidelining him through the fall of his sophomore year.

During that period, Lonergan was relegated to the role of spectator.

"I once had a dream of timing a race, and woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat," he says. "I vowed to try to do everything that would keep me from timing again."

After a summer of intense training, Lonergan faced his first real test at the season-opening Fordham Invitational, which was also at Van Cortlandt Park.

While the team finished a disappointing fifth overall, the race was a personal success for Lonergan, who finished just 14 seconds behind Carswell.

"I was pretty surprised at how well I did," he says. "It was a big load off my shoulders, and really showed me what kind of shape I was in."

The room that the duo occupies in Leverett House with teammate Daniel Herlihy has also allowed them to maintain their focus off the course.

"We're submersed in the sport, and it keeps us focused on our goals," says Carswell. "It's a very good environment. We feed off each other's intensity and performance to improve ourselves."

"We don't compete against each other," agrees Lonergan. "We wish each other the best of luck. When I was injured, he was a real model of what could be done."

Although the Crimson finished a dismal eighth last year, both runners agree that anything short of victory will be unfulfilling.

"I've been impressed with how the team's come together and focused on our goals," says Carswell. "We can't label our season a success yet. "[The Heptagonals] are the epitome of the season, which will determine our success as a team."