Seidel, Men’s X-Country Place Seventh At Regionals

The Harvard men’s and women’s cross-country teams each placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Northeast Regionals, taking seventh and ninth, respectively, at Van Cortland Park on Saturday.

In the men’s 10K race, the Crimson finished behind all five of the other competing Ivy schools except Yale, who turned in a ninth-place performance.

Harvard captain Matthew Seidel led the Crimson in the last cross-country race of his Harvard career, placing 24th in 31:43.1. He was backed by freshman Timothy Galebach (37th) and sophomore Reed Bienvenu (46th), two young runners who have raced consistently well for the Crimson.

“[Tim and Reed] have been competing all year, so we knew they would be there at the end,” Seidel said. “The highlight of the year has been seeing the young talent come up.”

As a testament to the strength of the Ivy League, all six Ivy teams in the Northeast region placed in the top-10 in both races.

After winning their third straight Heptagonals title two weeks ago, the Dartmouth men finished first among the Ivy teams, taking third overall behind Iona and Providence in the 33-team field.

The Big Green’s Tom McArdle won the race in 30:04.7, returning to All-American form after being nipped at the line at Heps by teammate Jarod Shoemaker.

In the women’s race, Harvard ended a rough season with a strong effort behind the frontrunning of freshman phenom Laura Maludzinski, who took 27th in 21:52.5.

The team also saw good performances from junior Beverly Whelan (22:15.9) and co-captain Claire Nicholas, who took 40th and 54th, respectively.

Columbia topped the 36-team field, adding another title to its 2002 Heps championship.

Yale’s Kate O’Neill took individual honors, winning in 20:45.3. Her twin sister Laura placed third (20:52.9), as the Bulldog duo just barely failed to recreate the one-two finish that it produced at Heps.

For both the men’s and women’s teams, the NCAA Regionals was the last meet of the season. While the Crimson cross-country program had a slightly lackluster year, its wealth of young runners and good performances at end-of-the-season championships offer hope for the future.