Track Teams To Inaugurate Home Track This Weekend

Harvard men's and women's track is racing into their spring outdoor season today as they take to McCurdy Track and compete against Ivy League opponents Brown and Dartmouth.

Not only will this holy weekend track meet be the first of the season for all of the teams, but it will also mark the christening of the McCurdy Track.

Today's meet is the first competition on the newly resurfaced track and the first Harvard home meet in three years. Lauren DiStefano, Harvard's Director of Operations, explained that defects in the surface of the track were the cause for the long absence of home competition. She emphasized that the track is in perfect condition now and ready for competition.

Although DiStefano said she did not have enough knowledge to comment on any specifics regarding the problems of the track over the last three years, a Harvard Sports Information officer said, "It's a touchy subject."

Members of the track team were more willing to speak about the three year recovery process that the track has endured. Captain Ailey Penningroth reported that a chemical was spilled on the track three years ago during the initial resurfacing process. This caused bubbles to form on the surface of the track.

Junior distance runner Ian Carswell further remarked that an attempt made to repatch the track last year was unsuccessful. These futile efforts to cure the complications culminated in the entire track being resurfaced again last summer.

Captain Matt Bundle stated that a legal dispute between Harvard and the company that resurfaced the track was contingent on Harvard's claim that the track was unsafe for competition. In accordance with this assertion, Harvard has held its home meets at Northeastern's track for the last three years.

Despite the rehabilitation period for the track, the Crimson were still able to practice on it.

"Although it was not fit for competition, we were still able to practice on it," Penningroth said. "So it's not as if we're stepping out on it for the first time, but it's nice to run at home."

This track that has been the focus of a three year comeback will be put to the test today along with its home team. After spending spring break in warm and sunny Houston, Texas, both men and women have returned to the Northeast to brave the colder climate and overcome early season injury and illness.

Regarding the transition from the southern heat to the northern cold, women's captain Amanda Williams stated that Haggerty has a definite philosophy.

"Coach said, 'There are certain things you can control and certain things out of your control...The weather is not under your control. Your reaction to the weather is,'" Williams said.

Another component that is out of the team's control is injuries.

"There are a lot of injuries, but we're hoping to make a good showing," Williams said.

It may be a different story for the men's squad. Already boasting a small squad, the injuries and illness that have ravaged the team during its early season preparation will be very apparent in today's meet.

"We're going into the meet a little shorthanded," Bundle said. Without any depth and now without some of its top athletes, Harvard will struggle against the larger squads from Dartmouth and Brown. Realizing the disadvantage that a small team has, expectations for the meet are realistic.

"We're being a little conservative in our approach to the meet," Bundle said.

Despite the injury, illness, and lack of depth on both squads, the outlook for the rest of the season is more positive.

"What I want most for the team is to develop a positive attitude," Williams said. "We need to develop that together to carry us for the rest of the season."

Although it took three years for the track to recover, the prognosis for these two squads is much better.

"We should be healthy and ready to roll within a week or two," Bundle said. And now the team has a brand new surface to gear up for.

"We have a great surface," Williams said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to perform on it."