Junior Moves Into National Scene With Finish

With the squad split over two races this weekend, some of Harvard cross-country’s less experienced members enjoyed an opportunity to show what they can do. For junior Dan Chenowith and the rest of the veterans, the group only continued to prove its dominance. The Crimson’s top runners traveled to Terre Haute, Ind. Saturday for the NCAA pre-nationals, while another contingent, led primarily by freshmen, competed at the UAlbany Invitational held by the University at Albany.

“I’m really pleased with the weekend overall,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “Both [the men and women] were looking to improve over last year, and we certainly accomplished that.”

The Crimson made strong showings at both events, particularly considering the top-notch talent present in Indiana. Paced by Chenowith’s eighth-place finish, the Harvard men claimed 23rd in a field of 34 teams, while the women relied on a one-two punch of junior Claire Richardson and sophomore Kailyn Kuzmuk to earn 12th out of 36. And on the East Coast, the Crimson rolled to 10th place finishes in both sides of the championship draw, despite fielding a younger squad.

“For the overall development of each individual, we want to make sure they can go to a competition where they can be competitive,” Saretksy explained. “UAlbany gave a lot of other kids an opportunity to be in the top five and score for Harvard…which is exciting for them and a good stepping stone.”

NCAA PRE-NATIONALS

While the women’s team once again had a better showing, the story of the day proved to be Chenowith, whose personal-best 24:01.8 not only netted eighth overall, but left the junior standout just 21 seconds behind top finisher Luke Paskedra of Oregon.

“[Chenowith] did an excellent job,” Saretsky said. “He followed his race plan, got out hard, and put himself in position to be gunning for a top 10 spot. I’m really pleased with the eighth-place finish.”

With two heats at pre-nationals, one needs only to double Chenowith’s finish to gauge his national standing—placing the junior decidedly in the country’s top 20.

The rest of the men followed with consistent efforts in the 8k competition, as the same five runners rounded out the scoring as during the Yale dual meet two weeks ago. Freshman Jeremy Gilmour and junior Ryan Neely crossed the line in 111th and 141st, respectively, while rookies Sean Poherence and Phil Galebach also made their races count. All of the competitors clocked in under 26 minutes, good enough for 23rd overall and a solid improvement over a 28th-place finish in 2008.

Yet the improvement on the women’s side proved even more drastic than the team’s male counterpart, as the Crimson rolled to a 12th-place showing after coming in 21st a year ago. Harvard relied on three top-50 runners to start off the scoring, with freshman Sammy Silva joining Richardson and Kuzmuk at the front. Richardson and Kuzmuk hung together throughout the race, finishing 31st and 33rd with times of 21:19.0 and 21:21.5, respectively.

“[Richardson and Kuzmuk] did really well, and they both improved over last year,” junior captain Jamie Olson said. “They both went out hard and just kept going.”

Olson and fellow junior Eliza Ives rounded out the scoring for the Crimson, marking a highly successful day for the women’s squad.

“A lot of people were not thrilled about how they raced, but overall we did well despite that,” Olson said. “It just shows how much depth we have and how much better we can be later on.”

UALBANY INVITATIONAL

Harvard sent a number of its younger competitors and middle distance runners to the University at Albany Saturday, earning 10th place finishes for the men and women.

The women’s squad placed all five scorers in the top 75, led by rookie Roey Hines, who improved 63 seconds on her previous best with an 18:24.4 on the 5k course. Sophomore Kristen Jorgenson, junior track captain Thea Lee, sophomore Alison Lee, and junior Meghan Houser combined with Hines to average 19:02.4 on the day.

On the men’s side, all five scorers were sophomores or freshmen, with rookie Joe Brancale leading the way.

His time of 25:40.1 marked a 37-second improvement over his previous effort. Sophomore Stephen Couch, freshman Ranvir Dhillion, sophomore Darcy Wilson, and rookie Weishen Mead rounded out the Crimson scorers on the 8k course, leaving Saretsky very encouraged.

“The [younger runners] are doing a great job every day in practice and outside of practice,” the coach said. “It’s great to see them continue to improve, and I think it shows a bright future for Harvard cross-country.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.