Heps Set to Start

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." Or let's at least hope so.

Both the men's and women's indoor track teams enter this weekend's Heptagonal Championships at Dartmouth with slight disadvantages in team size. Heps, the culminating team event of the indoor season, pits all the teams in the Ivy League as well as Navy against each other in a two day competition.

Captains on both teams cite the depth of their teams as one of the main problems for placing well in the team standings. Team placement is the main focuses for this season ending competition.

"Heps is a chance to determine your standing in the Ivy League," junior women's captain Ailey Penningroth said. "The record going in doesn't matter."

With a dual meet record of 5-2, the women's team nonetheless has high expectations for Heps. Put simply: "The team wants to win," Penningroth said.

But because the Crimson is one of the smallest teams, everybody needs to have a good day.

It's the same story for the men's team, who have a dual meet record of 3-3. "Everyone needs to have a great weekend," senior men's captain Amar Kuchinad said. "We have the most potential as a team; we just need to live up to that potential."

Kuchinad reiterates that the focus of the meet is team placement as opposed to individual performances.

"Heps is not good for qualifying times," said Kuchinad. The last two meets, against Cornell and Brown in one weekend and Yale and Princeton in another, were good for individual times. The large number of teams competing in Heps results in numerous heats which precede the final events. This schedule makes it difficult for a runner to improve on his times.

Furthermore, with a small team, many of the Crimson runners, jumpers and throwers are doubling or tripling in events, which lowers the likelihood for a personal best.

"As a team, we're looking to improve on last year's performance of fourth place. Individually, we're going for first and second in many events," Kuchinad said.

Another impediment for both teams is Dartmouth's poor track. "We're spoiled," Penningroth said. "Our track is one of the best in the country, so we'll have to adjust."

The women's team boasts a strong 4x400 relay team, that has clocked the second fastest time (3:51) going into Heps. Senior captain Amanda Williams, who was last year's 400 meter champion, is favored again in this event. And senior Karen Goetze is running strong in the 800 meters coming close to breaking the 2:12 barrier this season with a best of 2:12.33.

The men's team's strength lies in the distance events. Junior Ian Carswell claims the nation's third-fastest time in the 3000 meters with a 7:59. He has also provisionally qualified for the NCAA mile with a time of 4:04.77.

Junior Killian Lonergan is also placing Harvard on the national track map with the fourth-best 5k in the country at 13:59.35. Returning HEPS champions Darin Shearer in the 1000 meter and junior Steven Brannon in the pole vault, are among the favorites in their respective events.

Both teams have competitors in every event with the potential to score. Peak performances are needed to lead these small and therefore underdog teams to strong meet and season finishes.