Crimson Return to Ivy League Play at HYP Meet

Coming off of a weekend of competing against nationally ranked opponents, the Harvard track and field teams returned to Ivy League play Saturday when they faced Yale and Princeton in the annual HYP meet in New Haven.

“It’s a historic rivalry so it’s always a good meet,” co-captain Maksim Korolev said.

The women’s team swept the meet, finishing with 69 points—more than 20 points clear of the two other teams. The Crimson won nine of 15 events on the day to clinch the first place finish. The win over Princeton marked the first time the team had beaten the Tigers since 2008-2009.

“For our women to win for the first time in five years against Princeton is a great display of our depth and where we’re at with the program,” coach Jason Saretsky said.

Junior sprinter Danielle Barbian continued her strong 2013-2014 campaign, leading the pack in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.50 seconds. Though her time was just shy of the school-record 7.48 she ran last week, the junior set a new HYP meet record with the victory, besting her own record she set last year.

In the field, freshman Nikki Okwelogu continued to succeed in the shot put. Okwelogu won the event by a large margin—throwing 0.68 meters longer than the runner up, teammate sophomore Adabelle Ekechukwu. The rookie’s distance of 15.02 meters was a personal best and the second best distance in school history.

One of the most contested events of the day came in the women’s 4-x-400 meter relay. The Harvard ‘A’ relay team of freshman Haley Baker, senior Olivia Abbate, freshman Sylvia Deppen, and sophomore Madison Hansen beat out the Princeton ‘A’ relay team by only a hundredth of a second, taking the event with a time of 3:52.96.

In several events, Crimson runners were competing against their own teammates

The women swept the top three spots in the 60-meter dash and took the top two spots in the 200-meter dash, the 60-meter hurdles, the high jump, and the shot put.

On the men’s side, Princeton maintained a commanding lead throughout the meet—finishing with 89 points to 54 for Harvard and 26 for Yale.

The most competitive matchup took place between Harvard and the Tigers, as the Bulldogs were only able to capture one first place finish. The Bulldogs’ lone victor was freshman Marc-Andre Alexandre, who won the men’s 400 meter dash with a meet-record time of 48.01 seconds.

Overall, the Crimson took five events, while the Tigers had nine victories. The Tigers dominated the sprinting events while Harvard seniors Korolev and James Leakos buoyed the Crimson in the middle and long distances.

“We had some outstanding individual performances and again showed some key strengths,” Saretsky said. “[There’s] a lot of excitement and momentum for the Ivy Championships.”

Korolev continued a strong senior campaign, capturing victory in the 1-mile event as he set the meet record with a time of 4 minutes and 2.24 seconds. Leakos was first to cross the line as he participated in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:08.98.

“I had a pacer through the first 800,” Korolev said. “Then I just went. I knew I wanted the win.”

The Crimson struggled in the relays Saturday, coming in third in both the 4-x-400 meter and 4-x-800 meter relays, with the Tigers earning first place points in both events and Yale seizing back-to-back second place finishes.

In the field, Harvard dominated the weight throw as it swept the top three spots. Junior Ben Glauser won the event with a distance of 19.33 meters while freshman Josh Whitener and senior Dustin Brode took second and third, respectively.

The meet brought the indoor regular season to a close, as the Crimson will compete next March 1st at Dartmouth for the Ivy League Championships. This will be the first time since the Dartmouth Relays that Harvard will have more than a week between competitions. Some runners will continue to compete in the week off in order to stay fresh for the meet, while others will use the week to focus on training rather than the stress of racing.

“[The HYP meet] is a chance for us to focus on head to head competition,” Saretsky said. “It’s a real perfect stepping stone as we get ready for the Ivy Championships in two weeks.”