Leakos’ Fifth-Place Finish Paces Crimson at Paul Short Invite

This season, the Harvard men’s cross country team hopes to go the distance. On Friday, it made eight kilometers of progress.

The Crimson traveled to Bethlehem, Pa., on Friday to compete in Lehigh University’s Paul Short Invitational. The men’s team placed ninth out of 45 schools, scoring 279 points in total and finishing ahead of Ivy League competition Princeton and­—for a second-straight meet—Yale.

The women’s squad also turned in a solid performance, finishing in 14th place.

In a year already full of breakout moments, sophomore James Leakos added one more, completing the race with a time of 24:14. Out of more than 400 runners, Leakos finished in fifth place, first among Ivy runners.

“It was a very good race for me and for a lot of other guys on the team. We felt pretty good about it,” Leakos said. “We managed it pretty well. All the other Ivy teams were there, and we managed really well against them, so we’re excited about that.”

Freshman Billy Orman also came up big for Harvard, finishing in 24:58, second among freshmen and 32nd overall. Orman, who completed last meet in a time second only to Leakos, has shown remarkable skill transitioning from the high school to collegiate level of cross country, as this was only his second race for the Crimson.

“He’s handling the adjustment really, really well,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “I’ve been really impressed with Billy—it’s a big adjustment. [Runners struggle with] so many things freshman year, but especially the transition from 5k to 8k. He’s handling [that] well and the increased volume in our training well. I’ve been really pleased with his progress so far.”

Orman echoed Saretsky’s thoughts regarding the transition, citing the difficulties of adapting to a new race. Despite his finish as one of the top freshmen in the meet, Orman believes he still has room to improve.

“I was very happy with it,” Orman said. “But, I feel like I could have done better, I could have paced my race a little better. I think I went out a little too hard. Other than that, I was really happy with the race.”

Leakos also admired Orman’s efforts both Friday and for the season as a whole, mirroring his coach’s thoughts regarding the considerable progress he has already made.

“He’s running really well, he’s very talented,” Leakos said. “I think he’s just going to keep getting better. He’s a great kid.”

Harvard last competed at the Paul Short Invitational in 2007, when the squad set an average time of 25:25. On Friday, the Crimson bested its predecessors with an average time of 25:05. Saretsky attributes this improvement to the skill and dedication of this year’s team.

“Our team was just different, [going] towards a different place. This group … [has] a lot of talent,” Saretsky said. “They’re working hard, and really, I think, enjoying each race.”

One accident occurred in Friday’s meet—a collision between two runners resulted in a major holdup in the middle of the race. Many got delayed by this spill, including members of the Crimson.

“This kid went down in front of them … and it took them a while to climb back up [to full speed],” Leakos said.

On the woman’s team, senior Kailyn Kuzmuk once again led the Crimson to the finish line. Coming in 73rd out of a pool of almost 400, Kuzmuk ran the six-kilometer race in 21:51. Harvard placed 15th out of the 45 competing teams.

“Overall it was a good, beginning race for everyone,” Kuzmuk said. “We definitely have a lot more potential, and, as we continue training throughout the season, hopefully we’ll be able to beat some of the teams that beat us last weekend. But I think it was a good step towards our overall goal.”

Kuzmuk’s excitement mainly stemmed from the overall progress that the team is making. Following Kuzmuk, senior Jeanna Mack came in at 22:01. Sophomore Emily Rese, and freshmen Viviana Hanley and Alaina Alvarez rounded out the Crimson’s top five, running respective times of 22:05, 22:09, and 22:18.

“There are a few things I know I want to work on,” Kuzmuk said. “But I’m excited to have all the girls finish really close together. I think that is something that is really promising. For the rest of the season, I think just being able to work together to do a little bit better each meet.”