Runners Tear It Up At NCAA Regional Race

According to UHS, when the average Harvard student gets sick, he or she should remain bed-ridden until healthy. Apparently, Claire Richardson would rather be qualifying for nationals.

The third-year standout will join fellow junior Dan Chenoweth and sophomore Kailyn Kuzmuk as the Crimson’s three representatives at NCAA Nationals after each runner posted a strong individual performance during NCAA Regionals on Saturday. Chenoweth and Kuzmuk led the way for the Harvard cross-country team during a muddy romp through rain-soaked Franklin Park in Boston, placing third and sixth in their respective races, as the teams finished 10th and fifth. Richardson’s eighth-place finish on the women’s side earned her the final Crimson ticket to Terre Haute, Ind. next week.

“People did really well and had really strong performances on a tough day,” Richardson said. “Some others had tough races, but everyone committed to the course and did their best.”

While Harvard coach Jason Saretsky praised the tremendous effort of the three qualifying runners, he credited Richardson especially for fighting through her illness.

“Claire ran a really fantastic race,” he said. “She put herself in great, great position early to establish herself and did a great job of holding it together despite not being 100%.”

Yet as Richardson expressed excitement to return to nationals for the second straight year, she also noted that the day belonged to first-time qualifier Kuzmuk.

“Kailyn [Kuzmuk] has been training really hard and is in great shape,” Richardson said. “She’s so determined and clearly loves the sport…her performance really showed all of those qualities.”

Kuzmuk posted a 22:25 on the 6k course—with Richardson just three seconds behind—but both competitors showed regret that a fifth-place team finish left the squad short of a berth to nationals, an honor granted only to the top two teams.

Despite strong efforts from rookie Sammy Silva and junior co-captain Jamie Olson, who finished 11th and 30th, respectively, Syracuse and Providence held a lock on the qualifying spots.

“We were hoping to qualify everyone, but [some other teams] had great days,” Kuzmuk said. “We were still pretty excited. Everyone trying to qualify as a team was a good motivating factor, so everyone was running hard.”

This hard running was particularly crucial given the conditions of the course. While Harvard is familiar with the Franklin Park terrain, runners claimed that powering through the mudbath was a unique experience.

“It was insane,” junior women’s captain Jamie Olson said. “It was kind of fun, because you couldn’t get any traction on the ground, but then you realized that no one else could get any traction either.”

The men found circumstances equally dismal on the 10k course but drew on a number of young performers once again to crack the top 10 of the 36-team field.

Chenoweth remained the Crimson’s best performer, crossing the line in 31:03—a 5:00 mile pace. The junior’s effort left him only 27 seconds behind overall winner Ryan Sheriden and easily qualified Chenoweth for the next level of competition.

“This [race] sets him up really well,” Saretsky said. “Dan established that he can run with the top 20 or so guys in the nation, which is what he was shooting for. It was a really exciting race for him.”

“I’m really amped for [nationals],” Chenoweth agreed. “Hopefully I’ll be able to go out there and have a good race.”

Following behind Chenoweth were freshman Jeremy Glimour, junior Ryan Neely, and sophomores Michael Hoffman and Ben Enowitz. With no seniors among the top seven runners, the Crimson has laid the foundation for future success.

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