School Records Cleared at Drake Relays

With many collegiate sports, allocation of playing time poses a difficulty—balancing quality performers with those who need to gain experience. Fortunately for the Harvard track and field team, the spring season offers a plethora of open lanes. The Crimson kept a busy schedule this past weekend, sending competitors to the Penn Relays on Thursday, the Drake Relays Friday and Saturday, and the UMass Preconference Meet Saturday. Numerous members of the squad were able to compete.

“We tried to get each athlete into competition to best prepare for Heps,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said.

But, the head coach also recognized the chance for less heralded Crimson to get onto the track.

“Especially at UMass, that might be [some athletes’] last meet getting an opportunity to compete,” Saretsky said. “It was good to see some athletes on our team getting after it.”

While many members of Harvard’s squad had strong showings on the weekend, junior Chas Gillespie led the pack with a fifth-place showing in the college men’s 5000-meter at Penn, posting a 14:01.99—the fourth fastest time in Crimson history and good enough for an NCAA regional qualifier.

Gillespie’s tremendous effort marked an uplifting weekend for the Harvard men and women, as the squad readies itself to finish the season at Heptagonals in two weeks.

“I think [that race] gives me some confidence, and it gives my teammates confidence as well,” Gillespie said. “We’re all making strides and are ready to compete against the best in the Ivy League.”

UMASS PRECONFERENCE MEET

The bulk of the Crimson traveled to Amherst on Saturday to compete in a field of New England squads. With many of the team’s top competitors missing in action, Harvard nonetheless notched quality efforts on both sides.

The Crimson women dominated the distance events, as juniors Caitlin Clifford and Stacy Carlson took the 1500- and 5000-meter, respectively, with times of 4:39.70 and 18:01.39. Senior Jan Ng and junior Brenda Cohen finished second and third in the women’s 800-meter—a race in which all five Harvard competitors finished in the top 16—and sophomore Cara Sprague earned third in the 3000-meter steeple chase.

The Crimson’s sprinters were no less impressive, as seniors Dara Wilson and Geneva Trotter went one-two in the 100 hurdles.

With third place finishes from senior Evan Favermann in the javelin and freshman Lauren Barber in the shotput, as well as a second place effort from high jumper Dina Emde, Harvard tallied a total of 112 points en route to a fourth-place finish.

The men’s team enjoyed less success at UMass, although sophomore Sean Gil took the pole vault with a jump of 4.65 meters. Junior Jack Brady notched a third place finish in the hammer throw, but Harvard could not stave off an eighth-place finish, topping only University of Hartford.

DRAKE RELAYS

Sharing the Des Moines, Iowa track at Drake University with professional athletes, the Crimson held its own with strong individual showings.

Freshman Nico Weiler had the best effort on the men’s side, breaking his own Harvard record and earning second place in the pole vault with a jump of 5.30 meters. The distance medley team finished 13th for the top Harvard relay showing, with senior Derek Jones, sophomore Dan Chenoweth, and freshmen Darcy Wilson and Brian Paison completing the event in 10:00.78.

The women also challenged themselves against excellent competition and watched a few relay teams excel. The 4x1600 team of sophomores Claire Richardson, Hilary May, and Jamie Olson, along with rookie Nicole Cochran, crossed the line in fourth, drawing praise from Saretsky.

“The women’s 1600 did a really great job,” he said. “It was fun watching them beat Stanford, a traditional powerhouse.”

Harvard bested the Cardinal by .53 seconds, finishing in 19:36.51.

Richardson, Olson, and Cochran also combined with freshman Shannon Conway to finish sixth in the distance medley, setting a new school record of 11:40.24.

PENN RELAYS

The Crimson sent only three competitors to the elite competition in Philadelphia, but Gillespie made the trip count, posting a personal best to qualify for regionals. The junior was only three seconds behind the event’s top finisher, demonstrating the quality of his effort.

“It was pretty amazing,” Gillespie said. “I’m just really happy...[The personal best] was a bit of a surprise, but training has been going well, and I have a lot of faith in the program.”

Freshmen Stephen Couch and Kailyn Kuzmuk also competed in their respective 5000 events, finishing 37th and 27th. Kuzmuk’s time of 17:29.27 proved good enough for 14th among collegiate runners.

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.