Split Squads Taste Success

In their final meets before the Heptagonal Championships at Princeton next weekend, the Harvard track and field teams proved up to the task in two states.

Several competitors headed to Philadelphia for the fabled Penn Relays, while the rest of the team spent the weekend at UMass.

PENN RELAYS

At the 113th Penn Relays, freshman Eda Karesin led Harvard on Thursday with a second-place finish in the college women’s javelin on the strength of a personal-best throw of 44.75 meters.

The throw was also the second-best in Crimson history, qualifying Karesin for NCAA regionals.

Teammate and senior co-captain Julia Pederson, the current Harvard record holder in the javelin, was 15th in the event after a 38.80-meter throw.

Senior co-captain Sean Barrett was the only Thursday competitor on the men’s side, finishing 32nd in the 5000 meters in 14:55.08.

Friday brought more success on the women’s side, as sophomore Becky Christensen finished third in the college women’s high jump.

Her jump of 1.79 meters was the same as five others in the event, so the tie was broken on misses.

Since Christensen cleared the bar on her second attempt, she was awarded third.

“The best high jumpers in the country were at the Penn Relays,” Christensen said. “I think I’m in a really good place right now, especially since I’ve been jumping a lot higher than I did last year.”

“If on a bad day I can jump 5’10,” she added, “I’m doing pretty well.”

Only freshmen George Eggers and Justin Grinstead competed for the men on Friday, finishing 32nd and 38th, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles.

UMASS 8-WAY MEET

Harvard’s men racked up points in the field events on the way to finishing fourth at UMass on Saturday.

Junior Alex Obrecht and freshman Jack Brady took the top two spots in the shot put, with Obrecht throwing 15.58 meters and Brady coming in at 14.65 meters.

Brady also finished second in the discus with a 45.35-meter heave, and Obrecht was fourth in the same event after a 44.62-meter toss.

Sophomore Neville Irani was second in the hammer throw with a 52.86-meter throw, and senior co-captain Christian Ayers added a point with a sixth-place finish.

Senior Matt Niemczak rounded out the throws with a fifth-place finish in the javelin.

With time running out before Heptagonals, this week was critical for preparation.

“It’s kind of hard coming off Harvard-Yale [last weekend] because you’re really excited from that and you’re kind of worried that it’s going to be a down week,” Irani said. “We have the potential to place all of our throwers next weekend.”

Sophomore Derek Jones was second in the 200 meters, finishing in 22.43 seconds, while freshman Graham Infinger finished sixth in the long jump with a 6.59-meter leap.

Sophomore Adam Daoud ended up fourth and freshman Jon-Mark Overold was fifth in the 5000 meters, with Daoud finishing in 15:53.84 and Overold crossing the line in 15:57.77.

For the women, who placed third in the eight-team event, the pole vaulters were dominant as junior Clara Blattler won by clearing the bar at 3.65 meters and junior co-captain Sally Stanton finished second with a top height of 3.50 meters.

Freshman Heidi Hirschl was fifth in the event, clearing 3.20 meters.

Junior Danielle Mirabal won the long jump with a 5.37-meter jump, and she also finished fifth in the high jump.

Sophomore Evan Favermann was second in the javelin, throwing it 37.10 meters.

The Crimson won both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays, winning the 4x100 with a time of 47.54 and the 4x400 in 3:59.36, the only squad to break the four-minute barrier.

Sophomore Elissa Reidy freshman Katie Orchowski earned points in the 200 meters, freshman Jessica Setless finished fourth in the 1500 meters, and freshman Caitlin Clifford took third in the 5000 meters.

Sophomore Dara Wilson finished third in the 100-meter hurdles, running a 14.99, and sophomore Brittan Smith placed sixth in the same event.

Among other top finishers, senior Riki Helbling was sixth in the steeplechase, and junior Molly Boyle and sophomore Jill Sylvester finished fourth and sixth in the hammer throw, respectively.

—Staff writer Brad Hinshelwood can be reached at bhinshel@fas.harvard.edu.