Track and Field Finds Success Across the Nation

The Harvard track and field teams concluded the weekend with a number of impressive performances in Boston, Seattle and New Mexico, the last meets the team has until the Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal championships in 12 days.

DAVID HEMERY VALENTINE INVITATIONAL

After competing in the Scarlett and White Invitational a week ago, the Crimson returned to Boston University where they concluded the day with strong performances in a number of events.

For the women, sophomore Marlena Sabatino and junior Raegan Nizdil finished the day with top finishes in the pole vault and high jump, respectively. Sabatino claimed first place by clearing 12’ 9.5” (3.90 meters), while Nizdil also took home the gold medal with a high jump of 5’7” (1.70 meters).

“I felt really good at the end of the day because it was the highest that I’ve ever entered a meet,” Sabatino said. “It was important to get comfortable opening higher, especially because the Ivy League is very competitive. ” Freshman Nicole Trenchard finished third for Harvard in the pole vault, with a jump of 11’11.75” (3.65 meters).

Elsewhere, senior Emma Payne ran a personal-best 16:46.55 in the 5,000-meter run on her way to a ninth-place finish – also good for ninth-all time in Harvard history.

On the men’s side, the Crimson landed a plethora of seventh place finishes from sophomore Jay Hebert, freshman Myles Marshall, and junior Brandon Price. Hebert finished the day by matching his career best mark in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.12 seconds. Marshall ran the 800 meters in 1:50.05, while Price recorded a new personal best in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:00.07. Price’s time in the 3,000 meters is the fourth fastest in Harvard’s history.

Elsewhere, senior Mark Hill took sixth in the long jump after recording a career best 23’0.5” (7.02 meters) from the stripe.

“We had some guys do really well, and we have other still coming back from injury or getting used to their first indoor season,” Hebert said.

HUSKY CLASSIC

Harvard’s performance at the Husky Classic, hosted in Seattle at Washington University, was highlighted by strong performances from sophomore Courtney Smith and senior Paige Kouba.

Smith finished third overall in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:46.44, good for the eighth-fastest run in the country and fourth-best in Ivy League history. The run was also a significant personal best for Smith.

Kouba experienced similar success, running the mile in 4:43.77, good for 15th overall and fifth-best in Harvard history. This is also Kouba’s best- recorded time this season, and is less than a second off her career-best.

DON KIRBY INVITATIONAL

In New Mexico, Freshman Gabby Thomas (55.1), Seniors Autumne Franklin (52.7) and Christi Scott (54.2) and junior Jade Miller (53.1) wrote their names in the Harvard and Ivy League record books in the 4x400 meter relay, placing fourth in 3:35.14 in a time that marks a new Ivy League record.

Miller also placed third in the 600 meters, running a personal-best in 1:31.48. She also set a personal best in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.66. Thomas had two more top-10 results, taking sixth in the 200 meters with a time of 23.72 and seventh in the 60 meters in 7.46 seconds.

It was another freshman, though, who tallied the Crimson’s top marks in the 60 meter dash. Freshman Ngozi Musa ran a 7.40 in the semifinals – second in program and Ivy League history, behind only Thomas’s run last week in 7.38 seconds – and a 7.41 in the finals, good for fifth place.

With the strong performances this weekend, many on the team are looking forward to the Ivy championships in two weeks.

“You can see that lots of the teams have some heavy hitters, but I think that our guys feel good,” Hebert said. “Right now… we’re in a position to score more points than the Harvard team has in years.”