Scherf Takes Fifth, Heads to NCAAs

The Harvard men’s and women’s cross-country teams concluded their seasons Saturday in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships at Boston’s Franklin Park. The men finished eighth in the 33-team field, while the women placed ninth among 37 teams. Sophomore Lindsey Scherf placed fifth in the women’s event, qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

Scherf paced the Crimson women with a time of 20:34.7, part of a pack of four women within seven seconds of winner Fiona Crombie of Providence.

“We were all kind of fighting together the whole race,” Scherf said. “It was really up for grabs.”

While Scherf has had a strong season to this point, there were no guarantees in the race Saturday.

“I was pretty nervous going in, because our region is probably the toughest out of all of them,” Scherf said. “With all the tremendous competition, you really have to be concerned about making sure you qualify.”

The other runners for the Crimson all placed within the top 100 in the 252-member field.

Senior Laura Maludzinski finished in 21:55.5, 36th overall, while sophomore Sarah Bourne was 70th with a time of 22:33.3.

Rounding out the scoring for Harvard were sophomores Lauren Walker and Eliza Gardner, whose times of 22:37.6 and 22:52.9 were good enough for 71st and 89th, respectively.

The Crimson’s 271 points placed Harvard in a tie with Dartmouth for ninth in the team standings, 184 points behind winner Boston College.

On the men’s side, junior Sean Barrett led the charge in 31:29.7, landing at 45th overall. Sophomore Brian Holmquest was next for Harvard, placing 55th in 31:45.1, and fellow sophomore Ryan Hafer was 64th with a time of 31:53.6.

The other scorers for the Crimson were junior Peter Mullen, 71st after finishing in 31:58.8, and senior James Kelley, 87th with a race of 32:32.0.

Harvard’s eighth-place finish was a distant 289 points behind a dominant Iona team, and none of the Crimson men will advance to the NCAA Nationals.

Scherf, on the other hand, will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA tournament at Indiana State University on Nov. 21.

The young runner has high hopes for the race after a solid run Saturday. Earlier this season, she ran in the Pre-Nationals race on the same Indiana course that will host the Nationals.

“I think it’s a really good experience to be in a race where there are tons of girls who are fast going out with you,” Scherf said. ”I really tend to like that course. It fits to my strengths running on rolling hills and short cut grass.”

In that race, Scherf finished fifth in her heat and sixth overall in the 464-woman field. That experience and a strong, competitive season has encouraged her to set lofty goals for the NCAA Tournament.

“My intention is to go out there and give it my all,” Scherf said. “And if everything comes together I’d be very pleased with a top-five finish.”