Track and Field Opens Outdoor Season at Texas Southern Relays

Over the weekend, the Harvard track and field team kicked off its 2012 outdoor season in the Lone Star State at the Texas Southern Relays in Houston. Both the men’s and women’s squads had a number of strong outings, including some event wins and personal-best performances.

“It was a great trip overall,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “We got in some fantastic training, and I was really pleased with how our student-athletes went out and competed for us.”

On the women’s side, freshman Gabrielle Scott began her first collegiate outdoor season with a bang. The rookie earned second place in the 400m dash with a time of 56.17 seconds. Scott fell only to Prairie View’s Terracia Moody, whom she edged in the preliminaries by nearly half a second.

“I was trying to really get out in the first 200,” Scott said. “I ended up going about a second faster in the first 200 than I was supposed to, and I held it pretty well, so that was an accomplishment.”

But Scott wasn’t finished after her impressive performance in the 400. The first-year ran a leg of the 1600m sprint medley for the Crimson along with classmate Erika Veidis and seniors Shannon Conway and Meghan Looney. The medley team won the race, finishing in 4:01.00, just 0.02 seconds shy of the all-time school record.

“Everybody went out and ran a really strong leg, especially our anchor, Meg Looney,” Scott said. “She came back from third place and helped us get the win.”

Another freshman, middle distance runner Molly Renfer, also made her presence felt over the weekend. The rookie ran her way to the 800m title, finishing in 2:13.39, more than two seconds faster than her nearest opponent.

Away from the track, Harvard’s field athletes continued the success they enjoyed during the indoor season.

Junior Sydney Leroy tied the outdoor school record in the pole vault, clearing 3.80 meters for second place. Sophomore Allie Pace, who holds the indoor school record in the event, had a clearance of 3.65 meters to finish in third place.

“We have a great pole vault crew,” Saretsky said. “I was particularly happy for Sydney, who matched the school record. Now both she and her training partner have their names up on the record board, which is fantastic.”

Senior Shannon Watt also turned in a solid performance over the weekend. Watt threw 46.38 meters in the discus to win the event. The mark was just over a meter short of her personal-best throw, which is the third farthest in Crimson history.

On the men’s side, freshman thrower Ben Glauser had the performance of the weekend for Harvard, capturing two event titles. The rookie’s throw of 17.04 meters in the shot put outdistanced the second-place finisher by nearly half a meter.

Glauser earned his second win at the invitational with a hammer throw of 54.22 meters.

“[The throwers] are definitely a talented bunch,” Saretsky said. “[Throwing coach Cathrine Erickson] does a great job with their training regimen. She’s continually pushing them to get most out of themselves.”

Coming off indoor Ivy championships in their respective events, sophomore sprinter Damani Wilson and junior pole vaulter Nico Weiler showed that they can be just as competitive outdoors.

Wilson, who is also a member of the Harvard football team, ran the 100-meter dash in 10.92 seconds, which was good for second place at the meet. Wilson fell only to Texas Southern’s Justin Anderson, who cruised to first with a time of 10.79 seconds.

Weiler also earned a second-place finish by clearing 5.05 meters in the pole vault. Seth Arnold, a member of the USA All-Stars, finished in first place with a clearance of 5.20 meters.

The trip to Texas has been an annual tradition for the Crimson for roughly 30 years. The squad stays with host families for the duration of its time in the Lone Star State, and trains using the athletic facilities at Rice University.

“[The trip] is a fantastic tradition,” Saretsky said. “Even though this winter has been a bit of an exception, it gives us a great opportunity to get in some warm-weather training.”

—Staff writer Dominic Martinez can be reached at dmartinez@college.harvard.edu.