Saretsky Guides Crimson Progress

Cross country and track head coach Jason Saretsky has never heard of a sophomore slump.

In his second year at the helm of the program, Saretsky is already well on his way to building the Harvard group into a powerful force.

“I still feel like we have a long, long way to go to get where I want to take this program,” Saretsky said. “But I’m really satisfied with how the returning members have responded to the changes the coaches have made.”

Both men’s and women’s cross country squads improved upon last season’s last-place finishes at the Heptagonal Championships, moving up to fifth in their respective races. Harvard also defeated Yale on both sides at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton (HYP) meet for the first time in a decade.

Although co-captain Brian Holmquest led the team—placing second in the HYP meet with a time of 25:55—the Crimson effort was highlighted by rookie standouts.

Newcomer Dan Chenoweth finished first among American freshmen in the NCAA Regional meet in addition to a 16th-place finish at Heps.

“We had a good base of young kids,” Holmquest said. “We’ve also had a much more structured approach. [The coaches have] brought a new way of seeing the season. With there being a lot of young people, it allows that kind of outlook and perspective to grow and settle in well.”

On the women’s side, the squad sent seven runners—six of whom were rookies—to the NCAA Regional meet and improved six spots.

Freshman Claire Richardson led Harvard’s regional effort, placing 22nd with a time of 21:25.45. She also received second team All-Ivy honors as well as a spot on the All-Regional team for her top-25 finish. Classmate Jamie Olson led the Crimson runners at Heps with her 18:03.40 finish, placing 13th overall.

In the indoor and outdoor track seasons, the men and women continued the trend set in the fall, offering consistency from the upperclassmen and breakout performances from the first-timers.

Junior Becky Christensen continued to dominate the high jump, winning both the indoor and outdoor Heptagonals by clearing 1.79 meters in each meet.

Perhaps more impressive was Christensen’s outright win of the Penn Relays, the largest track and field competition in the United States, in which she cleared 1.83 meters on her first try.

“Our upperclassmen did a great job making sure there was great leadership,” Saretsky said of Christensen and the other team veterans. “Having that young a squad can be great for the future, but it can also cause you to pull your hair out if you don’t have the leadership.”

But the freshman class of Chenoweth, Jessica Fronk, and Dina Emde, to name a few, added its fair share to Harvard’s success. Richardson and Olson carried their momentum from cross country through the indoor and outdoor seasons.

The outdoor Heps were highlighted by Olson’s anchoring of the 4x800-meter relay team, during which she overtook the Cornell runner in the home stretch to give the relay squad the gold medal with a time of 8:56.70.

In the same meet, Chenoweth fell down late in the 5000-meter run, but picked himself up after dropping to last place and made his way back to the front of the pack—at one point taking the lead—before slipping to second in the home stretch.

This gritty determination has moved the Crimson further up the ranks and Saretsky has reveled in getting the most out of his athletes.

“It’s reflective of the personality of our team,” Saretsky said. “It’s show up everyday and get to it. We’re not trying to convince everyone that we have the bells and whistles to make them better, it’s just hard work.”

Although Harvard will be losing many talented seniors, the returners’ heart combined with a fresh batch of talent coming in next year makes Saretsky optimistic for the future.

“It’s a class I’m excited about,” Saretsky said. “It’s a lot of talent in different key areas that we need. It’s a real good group of athletes that will continue to elevate the program.”

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