Across Board, Crimson Athletes Shatter Records

Harvard is known for a lot of things: number one school in the world, the Yard, protests outside of undergraduate libraries.

But certain athletes of the fall season are making the Crimson known for something else—record-breakers.

Three current Harvard stars—women’s soccer goalkeeper and co-captain Katie Shields, All-American junior running back Clifton Dawson, and sophomore cross-country phenom Lindsey Scherf—have all made names for themselves by assaulting the Harvard records.

SHIELD IN GOAL

Shields has been a force in net for the Crimson this fall season.

The cornerstone of Harvard’s outstanding defense, Shields has already broken the school record for most shutouts.

In her first 13 games, Shields recorded a staggering 10 shutouts, besting a mark previously held by Tracee Whitley ’88. The Crimson’s record currently stands at 7-5-3, so each shutout has been invaluable.

Every Harvard win or tie has come as a result of a Shields shutout. In every game that the Crimson keeper has let in a goal, the team has lost.

Shields maintains her humility despite her dominance.

“I couldn’t get [the record] without the 11 in front of me,” Shields said after posting the record in a 3-0 defeat of Holy Cross. “It’s a team record, not mine.”

DAWSOME

Record-breaking is nothing new for Clifton Dawson.

Saturday was just another notch on his belt. Make that a huge notch on his belt.

In Harvard’s 42-14 shellacking of Dartmouth, Dawson vaulted himself into first place on the Crimson all-time rushing list.

In gaining his 3,335th yard on Saturday, he passed the previous mark of 3,330 yards set by Chris Menick ‘99.

And Dawson accomplished his feat in less than three years.

“I knew coming in that if I worked hard I would be able to make my mark on the record books, and that’s something I wanted,” Dawson said. “It feels great that the hard work you have put in has paid off.”

Dawson may see even greater dividends from his hard work in the future, as he chases the all-time Ivy rushing mark of 4715 yards held by Cornell’s Ed Marinaro ’71. If Dawson continues at his current rate, he would reach over 3600 yards at the end of the season, setting up a senior year to pursue the record.

“That would be great if I could in fact break that record,” Dawson said. “There are some unbelievable players on the list.”

Dawson, however, has not forgotten what has gotten him to this point.

“I haven’t rushed for one yard without [players like] Will Johnson,” Dawson said. “They should be on the list with me.”

Humility is a major part of greatness, and Dawson has both.

SCHERF AND TURF

Winning first place at her third collegiate race, achieving the best U.S. time—and an 18th place finish—at the Junior Worlds, and receiving All-American honors would be an impressive resume for any athlete over a career. Crimson sophomore cross-country runner Lindsey Scherf did it in one year.

And that doesn’t even include the most impressive accomplishment of Scherf’s freshman year.

At last year’s Heptagonals, the Ivy League cross-country championships, Scherf destroyed the American junior 10,000 meter record time of 32:52.5 by 1.3 seconds, an eternity in track and field, with a time of 32:51.20. The record had been in place for 26 years.

“Going to the World [Junior Championship]s was an incredible experience, and getting All-American was wonderful,” Scherf said. “But setting an all-time junior record, it was my best performance and greatest accomplishment.”

Hopefully, there will be plenty more records in the future. Scherf already has her eyes set on the Olympics in 2008, where she may attempt to qualify for races ranging from the 1500 meters to the marathon. To reach her Olympic goals, Scherf will need the hard work and confidence that have gotten her this far.