Women Win, Men Second At Home

If Harvard keeps getting results like this at home, it may want to host a few more meets next season. The Crimson track and field team welcomed Connecticut and Brown for the Harvard Select Meet on Saturday, the squad’s second of three-straight events at Gordon Track and Tennis Center. The women won the contest in a dual matchup with Brown, 65-57, while the men finished second behind the Huskies with 45 points.

“It was the first time [this season] that we came together for a team score,” Crimson coach Jason Saretsky said. “To be able to beat Ivy League rival Brown...was a great step for the program, but we still have work to do.”

Harvard enjoyed a number of dominant performances on the day and added another IC4A and ECAC qualifier. Sophomore Darcy Wilson earned his invitation to IC4As with a 1:54.88 in the 800 meters, good for second place. Still, the young runner was not completely successful, as Connecticut’s Alex Bennatan took the event by just six thousandths of a second.

“Darcy is a great competitor, and that’s two weeks in a row that he’s been able to qualify for IC4As in an event,” Saretsky said. “Each time it’s come down to the absolute wire.”

Junior high jumper Dina Emde did not have to sweat out such a close finish as she cruised to an ECAC bid. The Crimson notched a sweep of the event, taking all four places, as Emde came out on top with a jump of 1.70 meters. Harvard’s dominance in the event showed that the women’s high jump continues to be a Crimson strength, even after the departure of four-time All-American Becky Christensen ’09.

“The women’s high jump has a great tradition at Harvard, and we’ve got some outstanding athletes this year,” Saretsky said. “It was fun to see Dina get the ECAC qualifier this early in the season.”

But the high jump was not the only strong performance for the Crimson women, as the squad took six events on the day. Although some races featured very few competitors, Harvard still took encouragement from individual winners Olivia Weeks, Sydnie Leroy, and Ashtynn Baltimore—all rookies. Weeks took the long jump in 5.53 meters, while Leroy claimed the pole vault title and Baltimore the 60-meter dash.

“The freshmen have done an outstanding job,” Saretsky said. “They’ve handled the transition well in part because of the great leadership of our upperclassmen...but also because they want to get after it and shake things up.”

In addition to its standout crop of freshmen, the Crimson demonstrated tremendous depth throughout its roster, as Harvard claimed both the 4 x 440-meter and distance medley relays. The 4 x 440 team topped Brown by nearly 10 seconds.

While the men could not post as dominant results against a talented Huskies squad, the hosts still notched a number of noteworthy results. The Crimson took three individual events, as well as the distance medley relay, and perhaps no effort was more impressive than co-captain Jack Brady’s double win in the shot put and weight throw.

The IC4A qualifier continued his run of solid performances, notching personal bests in the shot (16.53 meters) and the weight (18.20 meters). Brady and Crimson freshman Edward Brucker were the only two competitors to place in the top nine of both events.

“[Brady] has been doing a great job,” co-captain Justin Grinstead said. “All season he’s been performing, setting personal bests...He has a really good, competitive spirit.”

Rookie Kenneth Kan Wang also enjoyed an individual win, jumping 6.72 meters to take the long jump by a healthy margin, and junior Brian Hill placed second in his first 400-meter race of the indoor season.

With so many standout efforts early in its indoor campaign, Harvard knows it is well prepared for the conference meets.

“In years past, with reading period and exams we haven’t been able to have as good training [at this point in the season],” Grinstead explained. “Now we’re able to focus on training and getting into a really competitive position.”

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