Youngsters Race in Boston

Fielding a mostly freshman squad, the men’s and women’s cross country teams ran strong through the heat and dust in Saturday’s New England Cross Country Championships held at Franklin Park in Boston.

The standout performer for Harvard was senior Christopher Green, who finished sixth overall in the men’s race, leading the men’s squad to a 17th-place finish.

In the women’s race, freshman Meghan Houser took 41st place, with the Crimson women finishing 17th as well.

Both teams had to fight through the unusual October heat, with temperatures rising into the mid-80s during the early afternoon when the races were held. The intense sun also dried out the course, which made conditions rather dusty for the Crimson runners.

“It’s not ideal cross-country weather conditions for October,” coach Jason Saretsky said, “but everyone did a good job of getting out. Part of the team ran somewhat conservatively but did enough to avoid the cloud of dust.”

The strategy worked for Green, who kept pace with the lead pack from the start.

“Getting out fast was a priority,” Green said.

Looking to keep his top runners on schedule for the Ivy championships, Saretsky started several underclassmen. A total of seven freshmen competed for the Crimson, four on the women’s side and three for the men.

Saretsky was excited by their performance.

“They did a good job stepping up in the varsity race and showed improvement from a relative standpoint,” he said.

Houser led the women with a time of 19:17 on the five-kilometer course, which averages out to a 6:12-per-mile split.

“She did a good job getting position,” Saretsky said, “and her workouts are going well, so I’m excited to see how she does throughout the season.”

Following her were freshmen Meghan Cleary, at 62nd overall with a time of 19:33, and Hillary May, who finished 104th with a time of 20:04.

Rounding out the pack were sophomore Brenda Cohen, at 139th with a time of 20:27, and senior Eliza Gardiner, who clocked in at 20:34 and 151st overall.

Freshman Alison Liewen was Harvard’s sixth runner.

The race held some significance for Gardiner, who is coming off an injury that held her out last season.

“I’m happy to be back out here,” she said. “Since it was a big race, I had to get out, and it was harder to navigate, but you can pass lots of people too, which was fun.”

On the men’s side, freshman Dan Emont and sophomore Adam Daoud followed Green on the eight-kilometer course. Emont finished in 26:40, good for 83rd overall, and Daoud followed five seconds later, crossing at 96th overall.

Rounding out the results were senior Haibo Lu in 27:32 and 143rd place, freshman Tommy Hutchison in 148th place and a time of 27:36, and freshman Rob Schaaf, who finished 206th overall at 28:42.

“Dan and Tommy did well,” Green said. “I think they took about a minute off their times. They’re getting used to college-length courses and took a solid step forward.”

Overall, the team’s finish despite the absence of some top runners came as a pleasant surprise, as both teams finished in the top half of crowded fields. On the men’s side, there were 43 teams total, with 291 runners, and for the women, there were 44 teams and 299 runners.

The Crimson will use this strong performance as a confidence boost when the squad competes in the Albany Invitational on Oct. 13, its final tuneup before the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.

“I’m excited for next week,” Saretsky said. “Our people are performing at a high level.”