Harvard Looks To Gain Headway at Heps

The Harvard cross country team will travel to New York today to compete in the Heptagonal Championships in Van Cortlandt Park. But this isn’t just another race. It’s the Ivy League Championships, where the Crimson will go head to head with competitors including Yale and No. 4 Princeton.

“[The race] doesn’t mean anything in terms of qualifying for the postseason, but clearly there is a lot at stake,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “Any chance you can go against your peers, there is a little more energy, more juice, and more excitement to the meet.”

The Crimson will enter its weekend of competition coming off of a triumphant outing two weeks ago where six runners posted personal-record times. Junior Stephen Chester led the way by shaving an entire minute off of his 8K race time. Even with the vast improvements Harvard has made this season, it will look to continue to achieve its predetermined season goals.

“We are excited going into this weekend,” Saretsky said. “We accomplished our first goal beating Yale on both sides [last race]. We are now looking to accomplish our next big goal, and that’s improving our standing within the league.”

Last year, Harvard finished fifth in the Ivy League rankings, but should improve its standing within the Ancient Eight after today’s race.

Leading the Crimson for the men is sophomore Dan Chenoweth, who has had an outstanding year thus far. An all-Ivy second team choice last year, Chenoweth has the ability to surprise many people this weekend.

“Dan was the top freshman in the league last year,” said Saretsky of his star performer. “We’d love for him to be the top sophomore this year and have a good, solid race. I have no doubt he’s going to make a big contribution to the team.”

“It would be unwise to count Dan out of any race,” captain Chas Gillespie added. “He’s so tough. The way he runs, he’s full of energy. He’s got this tenacity. It’s quite amazing to see actually.”

On the women’s side, sophomores Claire Richardson and Jamie Olson look to lead the way to another successful outing. The two have competed all year long, concurrently pushing each other to do better each time they race.

“Claire and Jamie have been neck and neck all season long,” Saretsky said. “I’m looking forward to seeing them work together and to them being a strong one-two punch for us.”

Saretsky says his team is adequately prepared for today’s race. With a cautious training regiment these past two weeks, the team feels ready both physically and mentally to run.

“Pre-Nationals, we probably weren’t as sharp,” Saretsky said. “Racing a lot can really wear you down. Right now we are relatively healthy and fresh. We are more prepared going into this race.”

Gillespie and Richardson both attribute part of the team’s success to the workings of Coach Saretsky. Since Saretsky came to Harvard three years ago, the cross country men’s and women’s teams have done substantially better in times and rankings.

“Jason has high but reasonable expectations for both teams,” Richardson said. “He knows that we can improve and be very competitive in the Ivy League. It makes us want to go after it, go to that next level, and step it up a bit.”

With inclement weather bringing rain and low temperatures to the midweek practices, Harvard continues to shine in preparation for the weekend.

“Our sport is extremely simple,” Saretsky explained. “It’s one foot in front of the other. No matter what the conditions, it’s the same thing.”

Today forecasts partly cloudy skies with a high of 58 degrees in New York—perfect weather for fast running. Harvard will continue to stay calm and focused about its upcoming race against some of its biggest rivals.

“It’s an important race, but we are not the type of team to put too much emphasis on one race,” Gillespie said.

Although this weekend will determine this year’s Ivy League champion, it does not qualify an individual for any future races, such as nationals. The championship therefore is more like a showcase for the team, but with a conference title on the line.

“It’s just another race,” Richardson said. “Every race you go out there and work your hardest. You try to work together as a team.”

“I think the Heps meet is in a certain way just a celebration of all of the work we’ve put in and everything we’ve contributed to our season,” Gillespie added. “It’s fun to get out there and race.”

The Crimson will round out the weekend with the Manhattan Club Bad Boy Invitational on Saturday, also at Van Cortlandt Park.