Soph Continues Magical Run

Many Harvard students greet Monday morning with a groan, exhausted either by Sunday night’s homework marathon or by a particularly mean weekend hangover. As these students roll out of bed, sophomore Lindsey Scherf is already running throughout Cambridge, clocking the first miles of her grueling 90 to 100 mile week.

Following a freshmen season in which she garnered All-American honors in all three seasons—cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track—Scherf returns to Harvard this fall hoping to capitalize on her impressive freshman year while cutting seconds off her race times. So far, she’s two for two.

Scherf recorded a dominant first victory of the 2005 season last Saturday at the Iona Meet of Champions in New Rochelle, NY, where she completed the 6k course in 21:19.3, shaving a full 15 seconds off of her 2004 finishing time of 21:34.3. As a team, the Crimson women finished seventh of 23 teams competing overall.

“The Iona race was a very positive way to start the season,” Scherf says. “It felt great, and other teammates had huge personal records. With the tough collegiate season, it’s just great to get a win in.”

Her fifth-place finish of a year ago was impressive, but the extra year of experience, which included such opportunities as the Junior World Track and Field Championships in France, has helped Scherf mature into a more disciplined runner.

“Last year, with Iona as my first collegiate race, I was nervous,” Scherf says. “This year, I felt like the experience really made a difference. I was more composed and confident, and my hard work over the past couple months has improved both stamina and fitness.”

Men’s and women’s track and field coach Frank Haggerty routinely sees such improvement—even in his best competitors.

“For anybody, the jump from freshmen to sophomore year is a magical leap,” Haggerty says. “For Lindsey, she has come back with a stronger sense of self confidence, which, combined with the experience, allows her to be more relaxed.”

During her 2004 freshman season, Scherf focused her energies on breaking records, but did so with an outward sense of ease.

In cross country, she broke the Harvard women’s 10k record. In outdoor track, she broke an American junior 10,000 meter record that had stood for 26 years.

With those accomplishments in the books, Haggerty says he believes that Scherf will be able to focus simply on winning the race rather than beating the clock. The shift in strategy, he hopes, will allow Scherf to reach even greater heights.

“This year, Lindsey can shift her focus from breaking the records to doing whatever it takes to win the races,” Haggerty says. “With a focus on the time, the strategy would be different. Now, she can change her strategy depending on the race and her opponents.”

Judging from the first race of the season, the new outlook seems to be working.

According to Haggerty, Scherf already ranks among the best ever at Harvard. And the sky’s the limit.

“Lindsey is certainly among the best we’ve ever had at Harvard,” Haggerty says. “We’ve been fortunate to have some very fine distance runners, and she has the opportunity to be the best one.”

While Scherf currently focuses on her competition around the Ivy League, she has her sights set on the senior cross country championships in Japan and even possibly the 2008 Olympics, where she could compete in races ranging from 1,500 meters to a marathon. She does not have the time—nor the energy—to train for marathons during the season, but hopes one day to add those 26.1 mile races to her resume.

For now, Scherf has her sights set on the next race: versus Yale and Princeton on Saturday. With her previous success, it’s easy to forget that she is just a sophomore.

“Lindsey is not yet at her sharpest,” Haggerty says. “She’s not even close to realizing her full potential.”

Competitors be forewarned: you don’t want to be anywhere near Scherf when she does reach that point.

—Staff writer Julie R. S. Fogarty can be reached at fogarty2@fas.harvard.edu.