Penn, UNH Lead to Success

By clearing 1.79 meters on her first attempt in the high jump, junior Becky Christensen became just the third woman in Harvard history to claim a Penn Relays medal and headlined a triumphant weekend for the Crimson track and field team, split between the three-day relays in Philadelphia and the Wildcat Invitational III hosted by UNH.

“[Christensen’s] alone in the league, and she’s just a good team leader,” co-captain Molly Boyle said. “People see her at Penn Relays and they stepped up in their events.”

With her win in the event on Friday, Christensen joined the elite ranks of Olympians Dora Gyorffy ’01 and Brenda Taylor ’01 as medal-winners at the Penn Relays.

With Penn behind it, Harvard now anticipates the Heptagonal Championships at Yale on May 10-11.

“We’re really looking forward to [Heps],” Boyle said. “To have 25 people who will probably be in the finals of their events is really exciting.”

WILDCAT INVITATIONAL III

Senior Sarah Bourne, freshman Meghan Houser, and sophomore Stacy Carlson finished one-two-three in the women’s 5000-meter run in Durham on Saturday, highlighting the Crimson’s continued success.

The trio finished just four seconds apart with Bourne’s 17:59.35 time leading the way, Houser’s 18:00.21 next, and Carlson rounding out the top three with a 18:03.64 finish.

Elsewhere, senior Erika Geihe finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.24 and junior Dara Wilson notched a second-place, 15.23 finish in the 100-meter hurdles.

Rookie Cara Sprague continued her success in the 3000-meter steeplechase, claiming the top spot in the event with a time of 11:38.17, almost a full 40 seconds faster than the second-place finisher from Maine.

“[Sprague’s] just so good at that specific event,” Boyle said. “She’s one of the few really experienced steeplechase runners.”

Freshmen Dina Emde and Jade Randle finished one-two among collegians—two-three overall—in the women’s high jump. Although both cleared the 1.65-meter bar, Emde required fewer attempts, locking up the top collegiate spot.

In the pole vault, co-captain Sally Stanton and fellow senior Clara Blattler both cleared the 3.30-meter bar, with Stanton surmounting it in fewer attempts, to finish second and third, respectively.

For the men, three Harvard student-athletes walked away with wins in their events.

Sophomore Justin Grinstead led the way with a personal-best, 53.02 second finish in the 400-meter hurdles, while classmate Graham Infinger took first in the long jump with a personal-best jump of 6.95 meters. Freshman Sean Gil completed the trio of wins with his 4.95-meter clearance in the high jump.

Other personal bests for the men came in the 1500-meter run, where sophomore Robert Kenney notched a second-place, 3:58.82 finish and rookie Ryan Neely clocked in at a fifth-place, 4:01.51 time.

PENN RELAYS

The Crimson squad set a handful of new season bests in Philadelphia, setting a good tone on the cusp of the Heptagonal Championships.

“There are not too many opportunities in this sport to compete in front of 50,000 people,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “For us to bring such a large contingent was great.”

But what marked Harvard’s success was not just individual success, like Christensen’s win in the high jump, but team success as well.

The women’s relay force of senior Danielle Mirabal and juniors Brittan Smith, Shannon Flahive, and Favia Merritt teamed up twice to compete in the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relays. In the former, the squad placed fifth in its heat—32nd overall—with a time of 47.02, the fastest among Ivy League schools at the Relays and the third best time in Crimson history. In the 4x200-meter, the foursome finished sixth in its heat—29th overall—with a time of 1:40.73.

“They’re just so much fun to watch,” Boyle said of the relay team which she described as a “dream team.” “Their handoffs are just seamless.”

Juniors Aishlinn O’Callaghan and Jan Ng and freshmen Jamie Olson and Hilary May filled out the 4x800-meter quad, whose 9:00.20 finish qualified it for the ECAC Championships. The time was good enough for fourth in the women’s college heat and placed the squad at 10th all-time in Harvard history.

Other individual successes included sophomore Eda Karesin’s fifth-place finish in the women’s championship javelin, tossing the spear 46.15 meters. Freshman Jessica Fronk finished 12th in the event with a throw measuring 41.06 meters.

Boyle notched in at the 13th spot in the hammer, throwing a personal-best 46.51 meters.

Rookie Eliza Ives also gained a personal best in the 5000-meters with a time of 17:04.56, qualifying her for the ECAC Championships and placing her at 15th in the Olympic development field.

For the men, co-captain Brian Holmquest ran a personal-best and IC4A qualifying time of 14:35.19 in the 5000-meters.

In the 3000-meter steeplechase, fellow senior Ryan Hafer notched a personal-best time of 9:32.81.

The distance medley relay team of senior Chris Green, junior Derek Jones, and freshmen Brian Hill and Dan Chenoweth picked up its fastest time of the year with a 10:02.65 finish, good enough for 11th and barely legging out Princeton for second among the Ivies.

“It was exciting to see them all come together,” Saretsky said. “The most exciting part for me was watching Dan Chenoweth, at the anchor, run down the Princeton anchor in the home stretch. It’s always great to beat the Tigers.”

Hill and Chenoweth also teamed up with senior Haibo Lu and sophomore Vito Cannavo in the 4x800-meter relay, finishing the event in 7:50.87, just seven seconds off the IC4A qualifying mark.

—Staff writer Dixon McPhillips can be reached at fmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.