Mixed Results For Thinclads

Most Harvard students found this weekend's glorious weather the perfect way to close out the summer. For the Harvard men's and women's cross-country teams, the weather proved to be nothing short of a nightmare.

Both teams traveled to New York City's Van Cortland Park to participate in this weekend's Fordham Invitational in 85-degree heat.

The toumament featured much of the divisional competition both teams will have to face this fall.

The Men

The men had a particularly disappointing day, finishing eighth overall in the five-mile event with 222 points.

"It was a fairly lackluster effort, not what we wanted," sophomore Andrew Pimlott said. "Mentally, we weren't in the race."

"No one was particularly pleased with the race," junior Matthew Bellizzi said.

Harvard's top finisher was junior Darin Shearer, who finished 28th overall with a time of 27:08.

Divisional rivals Penn, Princeton, and Cornell finished first, second, and third, respectively.

The course proved difficult for the Crimson runners.

"It was a tough, rocky course with sand in places," Pimlott said.

The course took its toll on the Crimson when junior Brian Walsh was forced to pull out of the race due to a turned ankle.

"He's usually usually the fastest," Bellizzi said.

In addition, the men were without captain Matthew Bundle, who was sick, and sophomore Ian Carswell, out with an injury.

The men, though discouraged, will continue to train as they have been for the past couple of weeks.

"We're not going to change our training plan," Bellizzi said.

The Women

The women fared considerably better in their five-kilometer race, finishing a close second to Cornell. Cornell won with 37 points, and Harvard finished with 51.

Standouts for the women included sophomore Jenny Martin, who finished second overall with a time of 19-27.

Also enjoying a strong showing was sophomore Cricket Sheppard-Sawyer, who finished fourth overall with a time of 19:44.

The Crimson apparently faded down the stretch, something that hadn't occurred in previous practices.

One observer attributed this to the sweltering heat and above-normal humidity.

The women also were hampered by injuries.

Sophomore Caitlin Hurley, who had been suffering from a lingering illness, was forced to pull out of the race.

At the time, she was close to the leaders, and so could have made the difference in the close outcome.