Women Shine at Van Cortland Park

A common fear among athletes successful in their debut seasons is falling into a “sophomore slump,” but so far the Harvard cross-country team appears to be immune.

The Crimson men and women had markedly different results at the Iona College Meet of Champions—held at Van Cortland Park in Riverdale N.Y. on Saturday morning—but both squads enjoyed strong performances from a number of sophomores, and a rookie, to kick off the fall season.

Four Harvard women crossed the line in the top six to lead the Crimson to a first-place finish, while second-year runner Dan Stiles headed a men’s squad that earned 14th.

“I thought it was a good opening race,” Stiles said. “We didn’t run some of our top guys, but the people that did run did well. It was great just to get our feet moving.”

Indeed both the men and women competed without their best athletes, as none of the team captains hit the course. Senior Chas Gillespie, junior Dan Chenowith and juniors Jamie Olson and Claire Richardson all sat out on Saturday, but the women’s squad proved undaunted, as Harvard dominated the field.

Freshman Sammy Silva won the women’s 6k race in 22:35.43, giving her an 18-second margin of victory in her first race for the Crimson.

“I think she did really well,” sophomore Jeanne Mack said. “In her first collegiate race, she came out with a bang. It was impressive, and I’m excited about her as a member of the team.”

Mack led a trio of second-years—including Kailyn Kuzmuk and Nicole Cochran—that finished just behind Silva to give Harvard a strong lead pack. All three runners managed a pace of 6:15 or better, and Mack was less than two seconds behind second-place finisher Alexandra Lizzarib of Kent State. Senior Caitlin Clifford finished 29th to round out the top five and give Harvard its best ever finish at the Meet of Champions.

While the Crimson youth clearly had a hand in the team’s win, Harvard coach Jason Saretsky also gave credit to the seniors, who provided a key veteran presence.

“I’m pleased with how the team performed,” Saretsky said. “We had a number of upperclassmen out there and the seniors that did compete, especially on the women’s side, did a great job.”

Considering that the Crimson’s two strongest runners are juniors, it appears that the squad can anticipate significant contributions throughout its roster. For the sophomores, Mack expressed excitement at the opportunity to make more of an impact this season.

“I know a lot of the [second-year runners] are feeling a lot better,” she said. “After a good, hard summer of training, we’re ready to improve on last year’s individual performances and as a team. We’re raring to go.”

Harvard’s men had a less compelling performance at historic Van Cortland Park.

Stiles led the way for the Crimson in the 8k race, finishing in 27:06.51 to earn 62nd overall, followed by a pair of rookies in Kevin Sprague and Jakob Lindaas, who finished only five seconds apart. Senior Bobby Kenney and junior Mark Hirschboeck maintained a 5:36 and 5:37 pace, respectively, to complete Harvard’s top five.

“A lot of guys ran pretty good races, but I think we’ll have better races in the future,” Stiles conceded.

Still, with many of the team’s top runners resting, Saretsky showed little concern with the mediocre results, instead highlighting the benefit of experiencing a course that the Crimson will run twice more this season.

“[Van Cortland Park] was a little different this year because of some construction,” Saretsky said. “It helps to see the course and get a good feel for it before we go back to race there in four weeks time. I think we’ll be ready for the Ivy Championships.”

It only remains to be seen how such a race will shape up after Harvard unveils the full strength of its roster next week.

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