Doyle, Gibson, Banks Shine For Injury-Plagued Track

Continuing their string of recent solid performances for the Harvard women’s track team, juniors Johanna Doyle and BreeAnna Gibson placed first and second in the weight throw on Saturday at the Harvard Invitational.

Their throws fell short of the impressive marks they had against BC, but at 15.55 meters and 15.36 meters respectively, they were good enough for the top two spots.

Several key contributors for the Crimson did not participate in the meet due to injuries.

“We have a bunch of stress fractures, achilles problems and hamstring problems,” said co-captain Alaina Aguanno. “We really want everyone to get healthy over break.”

The meet only recorded individual results, not team performances. Thirteen schools participated in the Invitational, which also included several athletes with no collegiate affiliation.

The Harvard women performed well in the 60-meter hurdles, as freshman Mary Serdakowski and sophomore Eleanor Thompson garnered first and third place, respectively.

Freshman Stevie DeGroff had a solid showing in the 60-meter dash, finishing in second place with a time of 7.94.

The 4x400 relay team, anchored by co-captain Ashley Furst, blew past the competition, winning the event by over three seconds.

Senior Helen Ronner, the Crimson’s traditional standout in the long jump and triple jump, did not compete in those events on Saturday due to a back injury.

The Harvard men’s team, also facing several injuries, did not perform as well as it did last weekend. But the Crimson did post some strong showings with numerous finishers in the second to fourth place slots.

Taylor Banks was the lone first-place finisher for the men, winning the 3000 meters by almost eight seconds.

Sophomore Thomas Wolf and senior Taylor Buckley placed second and third in the high jump. Each had a jump of 1.90 meters, but Wolf was given the nod because he cleared the height in fewer jumps.

Freshman Samyr Laine and sophomore Travis Hughes also took second and third in the triple jump. Laine’s distance of 14.33 meters bested his first-place jump of 14.23 last weekend.

Harvard’s top finish in the throws came in the shot put, as junior Adam Gelardi and sophomore Kristoff Hinson had throws of 14.45 and 14.20, respectively.

After resting over the winter break, both teams return to action when they host Northeastern on Jan. 11.

—Staff writer Samita Mannapperuma can be reached at mannapp@fas.harvard.edu.

Harvard Invitational

Women’s Track

60: 2. DeGroff 7.94 200: none 400: 3. Piper 59.52 Mile: none 800: none 3000: none 60 hurdles: 1. Serdakowski 8.95, 3. Thompson 9.26 4x400 relay: 1. Harvard 3:59.53 High Jump: none Pole Vault: none Long Jump: none Triple Jump: 1. Cutwright-Smith 11.36 Shot Put: 1. Gibson 13.24 Weight Throw: 1. Doyle 15.55, 2. Gibson 15.36

Men’s Track

60: 3. Hughes 7.27 200: none 400: none Mile: none 800: none 3000: 1. Banks 8:52.60 5000: none 60 hurdles: 3. Hughes 8.69 4x400 relay: none High Jump: 2. Wolf 1.90, 3. Buckley 1.90 Pole Vault: none Long Jump: 3. Ford 6.31 Triple Jump: 2. Laine 14.33, 3. Hughes 13.68 Shot Put: 2. Gelardi 14.45, 3. Hinson 14.20