Harvard To Host Heptagonals

An impressive array of sprinting, running, jumping, and throwing will be put on display this weekend as the Harvard men and women’s track team hosts the annual Indoor Heptagonal Championships at Gordon Track.

Just one year ago, the men finished last among all Ivy League schools while the women placed fourth. This year appears to be a different story, though, as expectations are flying high after solid victories posted by the women and men at HYP’s and the Battle of Beantown, respectively.

“I’m really excited going into Heps,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “It’ll be tough competition, as all of the Ivy League schools will make sure to bring in their best performances. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to compete in front of what will hopefully be a nice home crowd.”

“We’ve been training pretty hard this season and we’re hoping to build off our past success and bring the same momentum into this weekend,” added senior men’s co-captain Derek Jones.

The Crimson hopes to use home field advantage to its benefit, as it looks to unseat track and field powerhouses Cornell and Princeton. The Big Red was crowned last year’s male Heptagonal Champions while the Tigers took home the women’s title.

“There’s a huge difference between running on some track at Cornell or Princeton versus having your roommates and professors supporting you right in front of you,” Jones said.

Even without the home advantage working in its favor, Harvard appears in prime position to challenge many of the top teams in various events.

The men’s team is headlined by sophomore Dan Chenoweth, who is coming off of a 3000-meter win at the HYP meet with an IC4A qualifying time of 8:10.34. Also leading the way for the Crimson men are junior Chas Gillepsie, a specialist in the 3000-meter as well, freshman Darcy Wilson, a winner in the 800-meter two weeks ago, and Jones, who qualified for the IC4As with a blazing time of 49.12 in the 400-meter dash, also at the HYP.

“I’m feeling pretty great,” Jones said. “I’m hoping to put down some top marks this weekend.”

Also watch out for junior shot putter Jack Brady, who will look to improve his personal best of 17.39 m.

Co-captains Becky Christenson and Ashlinn O’Callaghan will lead the women’s team for one final Indoor Heps go-around in their highly decorated careers. O’Callaghan will try to improve on her third place finish in the 800 meter run at Heps last year. Christenson—who has already made her way to the top of the Harvard record books—will look to one-up herself for the third time this season in the high jump. Her current personal best of 1.91 meters is second all-time in program history.

Senior Brittan Smith will attempt to out-jump the competition in the long jump, while sophomore Claire Richardson will bring her NCAA qualifying time in the 3000-meter to the track.

“I’m just going to go out there and have fun, see what I can do,” Richardson said. “It’ll be just like any other meet.”

Sophomore Hilary May, who is seeded first in the 800-meter run, will look to improve on her NCAA provisional time this weekend.

With all the success Harvard has enjoyed all season, it’s hard to believe just how far the two teams have come since Saretsky took the helm just two seasons ago. As one of the smaller teams in the Ivy League, the Crimson doesn’t have the depth other top-Ivy teams enjoy. Rather, this small but mighty group has relied on a mentality emphasizing the idea of unity in a sport so individualized by its events.

“The things that have impressed me the most are the changes we’ve made in coming together as a unit, and really having a more competitive spirit,” Saretsky said. “It’s been several years in the making for the coaching staff and I feel like that we’re really starting to see it start come together.”

A bonded core of seniors will look to make a strong showing at its final Heps, which will punctuate four years of tremendous progress for the program and leave a legacy of dedicated athletes.

“That’s the goal for the program,” Saretsky said. “We’re going to win with quality players and act as a unified group that’s doing it for a good greater than ourselves.”

—Staff writer Kevin T. Chen can be reached at ktchen@fas.harvard.edu.