Spring Begins in Lone Star State

There are only two things a track team can do when visiting Texas: go to a rodeo and race.

And while members of the Harvard track and field team dubbed the rodeo “cool,” the most excitement came from racing, where both the men’s and women’s teams enjoyed powerful performances at the TSU Relays at Texas State University and the 27th Annual Victor Lopez Bayou Classic at Rice University.

“Overall it was a great trip,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “We brought a pretty large contingent down to Texas. We had a number of athletes who were event winners and who qualified for regionals. As a group, we took another step with this trip, and we are just really excited to get the [spring] season underway.”

BAYOU CLASSIC

At the Bayou Classic this past weekend, the Crimson faced teams from around Texas and from across the nation, including powerhouses Rice University, Jackson State, Michigan and Texas Tech. Despite the unfamiliar competition, both the men’s and women’s teams continued to perform well.

On the women’s side, sophomore Jamie Olson received a silver medal in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.67, just half a second behind first place finisher Keltie John from Rice and only one second ahead of Crimson freshman Meghan Looney, who placed fourth.

Other highlights included seniors Geneva Trotter and Dara Wilson’s fourth- and fifth- place finishes in the 100-meter hurdles.

The field part of Harvard’s contingency had its own success, with sophomore Jessica Fronk placing first in the javelin throw and senior Evan Favermann coming in third.

Co-captain Becky Christensen also had success, winning the high jump event with a height of 5’10.

On the men’s side, freshman John Dingus sat 0.2 seconds out of third place in the 400-meter dash, while sophomore Brian Hill won gold in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.33.

Freshman Nico Weiler and sophomore Sean Gil took first and third, respectively, in the pole vault, with Weiler clearing a height of 17’.

Junior Jack Brady received a bronze medal in the shot put with a throw of 51’1.5, while freshman Nick Farnsworth took gold with a javelin throw of 201’ in the last event of field competition.

“Overall this trip was a success particularly when compared to the previous years,” Saretsky said. “The team was much more competitive and it’s shaping up to be a good season for us.”

TSU RELAYS

A week earlier, at the Texas State University Relays, both the men’s and women’s teams started off the break ready to impress despite the windy weather.

“One of the things with this trip was that weather was an adjustment, going from indoors to outdoors, but the team did a good job,” Saretsky said. “The assumption is that if you go down to Texas the weather will be warm, but it was actually cold and windy.”

“I think a lot of people had a chance to get ready for the outside season,” Christensen said. “[The wind] made it hard for anyone who had long races, but I guess it made it better for our training. [Regardless of the conditions] I think everyone at least had a really strong start to the season, and some people were able to compete for the first time, since their events cannot be done indoors.”

Christensen again placed first in the high jump with a height of 5’10. Harvard also claimed third in the pole vault with freshman Stacey Jung clearing 10’8. In the javelin throw, Fronk placed first, followed by Favermann, with distances of 142’7 and 126’1 respectively.

Strong performances also came from Harvard’s runners, including sophomore Meghan Houser, who placed third in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:48. The 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of sophomore Katrina Drayton and freshmen Shannon Conway, Magda Robak, and Lauren Leon, grabbed another bronze for Harvard. Conway, Leon, senior Fa via Meritt and sophomore Thea Lee also won a silver medal for the Crimson in the 1600-meter sprint medley with a time of 4:01.97.

For the men’s team, sophomore Ryan Neely placed third in the 3000-meter run, while the Harvard distance medley team of juniors Vito Cannavo and Robert Kenney, and freshmen Jaques Barjon and Darcy Wilson, claimed gold.

In the last events of the day, Weiler placed second in the pole vault and Farnsworth placed third in the javelin throw. Senior Neville Irani and sophomore Eric Clayman also claimed the top two positions in the hammer throw to close out a successful week.