Track and Field Impresses in New Hampshire

Looking to kick off 2015 with success, the Harvard men’s and women’s track and field teams sent members to Hanover, N.H. to compete at the 46th Dartmouth Relays.

The small squads demonstrated individual and team success, as both teams placed fourth, with the men gaining three individual victories, while the women placed four entries among the top three for their respective events.

The Crimson athletes were led by the field competitors, as defending Ivy League Champions sophomore Nikki Okwelogu and captain Ben Glauser shined in their respective events to lead their squads.

Okwelogu continued her success by breaking her own indoor school record in the shot put with a time of 15.33 meters—0.2 meters better than the previous mark. The sophomore would place second overall and first among all collegiate entries in the event.

Okwelogu’s performance gained the praise of teammates, as she continues to build on her success form the previous season.

“Nikki is one of the most exciting people to watch that I’ve ever competed with.” Glauser said. “She’s a phenomenal competitor.”

Her fellow field teammates would follow up this success as senior Ann Giebelhaus and sophomore Raegan Nizdil finished second and third in the high jump with marks of 1.69 and 1.64 meters respectively. Senior Taylor Dupont would round out the four top-three finishes with a 15.19 meter third-place finish in the weight throw.

The men, not to be outdone, were also successful, as Glauser led the team with an impressive victory in the weight throw.

Glauser, the defending Ancient Eight champion in the hammer throw, would take the weight throw title home with a mark of 18.22 meters, almost a whole meter better than the second place finish of 17.25 meters.

The senior’s success didn’t stop there, as he also placed fourth in the shot put with a 16.17 meter throw. But Glauser believes that despite the decisive victory, there is still room for improvement as the season progresses.

“I think there was some technical issues, and volume is very high in our training, so I think it will be much better next week when we come home and [throughout] the rest of the season.” Glauser said. “I was happy to come away with the win today.”

Harvard’s success was not limited to the field however, as the freshmen men demonstrated their strength in the track events as well.

Rookie Malcom Johnson would take home two titles, placing first in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.85 seconds while also running the lead leg of the first place 4-x-200 meter relay.

Johnson was joined by classmates Matthew Hurst, Alexander Moore and Andrew Bolze, as the freshmen combined to run a time of 1:28.23 to take home the gold. Fellow rookie Jay Herbert would continue the first-years' success with a fifth place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with an 8.39 seconds finish.

The strong performance by the freshman displayed the potential and talent which they bring to the team.

“They’ve shown those flashes of what their potential is,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “I think the key will be, consistently, how well they can work day in and day out in practice.”

The meet also gave the Crimson a chance to get an early look at host and Ivy rival Dartmouth. The Big Green is a perennial powerhouse for track and field and one of Harvard’s strongest competitors.

While there is still a large portion of the indoor season left to go before the teams meet at the Hepagonal Championships, Saretsky believes that the Crimson have what it takes to compete against traditional powers.

“[On the women’s side] there is some great competition within the league,” Saretsky said. “Within the league, we have a target on our back, and a lot of teams are gunning for us. On the men’s side, with the work that we’ve added and the guys we have here, we feel they are ready to join the women competing for a championship.”

—Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at jfierro01@college.harvard.edu.