Female Throwers, Male Runners Compete, Excel at Penn Relays

The Harvard men’s and women’s track teams sent six athletes to compete at the prestigious Penn Relays last week.

The Penn Relays, among the premier amateur track and field meets in the nation, generally draw over 100,000 spectators over a three-day period.

Junior Johanna Doyle threw a personal-best 57.44 meters in the hammer throw and finished fourth in the Eastern division.

Doyle’s classmate, BreeAnna Gibson, placed ninth in her division in the shot put with a throw of 13.21 meters.

Rounding out the field events was senior Helena Ronner, who captured ninth in her division in the triple jump at 11.96 meters.

Seniors Nathan Shenk-Boright and Matt Seidel had solid runs in the 5K, placing 16th and 25th, respectively. Shenk-Boright finished in 14:15.23 while Seidel came in at 14:21.38.

Senior Chris Lambert competed in the 100-meter dash, but did not qualify for the championship.

“It was very exciting to go to such a major meet and to compete against schools we usually do not have the opportunity to see,” Gibson said.

Both Crimson track teams also competed at the New Hampshire Invitational on Saturday. Due to inclement weather and next weekend’s looming Heptagonal championships, several athletes did not participate in the meet.

“We don’t know what weather HEPS will bring, so this was a great chance to compete in the worse conditions,” women’s co-captain Ashley Furst said. “Our feet were frozen and numb and our hands were freezing.”

Despite the treacherous conditions, Harvard had a couple of standout performances.

Furst won the 400 meters in 58 seconds, while freshman Anne Hillier took the 200 meters in 25.4 seconds.

Both freshman Michelle Behrens and junior Alex Petrone recorded personal bests—Behrens in the pole vault and Petrone in the javelin, respectively. Petrone’s throw qualified her for regionals.

Several members of the men’s team did not compete, both to prevent injuries and to heal existing ones.

“This was a great tune-up meet before HEPS,” Furst said. “It was a good chance to get in some competition before next weekend.”

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