Athlete of the Week: Purnell Takes First Place at HYP Meet

Tom Purnell, a co-captain of the Harvard men’s cross country team, opened up his last season as a member of the Crimson by pulling out a first-place finish in the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet on home turf at Franklin Park in Boston this past Friday.

Purnell beat out Princeton rival William Bertrand in the last 100 meters of the men’s 8K race and finished with a final time of 24 minutes, 48 seconds, just one second ahead of the Tiger.

Overall, the men’s cross country team tied for second place at the meet, while the women’s squad took home the championship by a one-point margin.

Although he placed third overall at the same HYP meet as a sophomore, Purnell failed to crack the top 20 in his junior season, finishing fifth out of all Crimson runners in the race.

But the Gloucestershire, U.K., native’s new winning habits are not just the work of skill.

Purnell’s co-captain, Chris Allen, praised Purnell’s work ethic and noted that he is the first one to practice and the last to leave.

“Tom is a very good role model,” Allen said. “He is definitely someone that the [under]classmen look up to, especially [since] that we don’t have a lot of upperclassmen right now. Everyone looks up to him as one of the best runners on the team. We have a lot of young blood, and a lot of emotion and excitement.”

The Norfolk, Mass., native noted how Purnell shows a level of dedication that his teammates should emulate.

“As someone who’s lived with Tom for the past couple of years, he is very dedicated to his sport,” Allen said. “He eats well, gets his sleep, and is always ready to go at practice.”

In 2014, Purnell was a lone bright spot for the Crimson team.

In the Battle of Beantown, the senior finished 13th of 185 runners. At last year’s Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, Purnell stood in second place at the 3K split, ultimately finishing eighth overall.

At the NCAA Regional Championships in Riverdale, N.Y., the captain finished 17th overall, good enough for a spot at the NCAA National Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

As a co-captain with experience on the national scale — the senior finished 170th as the only Crimson runner to qualify for the NCAA National Championships last season — Purnell sets the tone for a promising team with a lot of young blood.

As a team, the Harvard men’s side boast 17 underclassmen and just four seniors.

Last season was a disappointment for the Crimson team, with the men finishing seventh of eight at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships and having only one runner reaching the National Championships. In 2013, the squad qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team,finishing 30th in the country.

“Last year, myself and the team ran pretty badly,” Purnell said. “I knew how important it was to run well this week. We’ve got a much better feel to the team this year, a much better attitude. I’m looking forward to qualifying for Nationals and getting a shot at All-American.”

Knowing this will be his final year running for Harvard, Purnell is taking it on himself to help rebuild a team that disappointed for most of last season.

For the senior, there is no better time than now to ensure that he and his teammates have their sights set on the same goals.

The team is set to build upon its first meet and to continue to improve, and the Crimson know that its success will depend heavily on Purnell.

“I’ve been the number one guy for two years now,” said Purnell. “I never skip out on anything or take anything easy at practice. It’s on me to be a low scorer in all of our meets.”

With Purnell at the forefront, Harvard cross country is looking to make waves in the Ivy League and ultimately to compete at the national level.

“He is a gifted athlete who has really taken his training and dedication to another level,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “He is a great example of what it takes to compete against the nation’s best.”