Men and Women Earn Battle of Beantown Titles

A lot can happen in three years. In 2008 at the debut of the annual Battle of Beantown Invitational, the Harvard men and women’s track and fields team failed to make a dent in the competition, finishing fourth of four.

Oh, how things have changed.

Last Saturday at Gordon Indoor Track, both the men and women’s squads finished ahead of local rivals Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern, taking home not one but two Beanpot trophies.

“It’s been a great progression for both programs,” said Harvard head coach Jason Saretsky. “Each year they’ve climbed the ranks relative to the other Boston Division I schools, and it was just a fantastic effort for both the men and women to pull off the victory.”

While the men had a relatively easy time on the track, finishing well ahead with 166 points in comparison to Boston University’s second place score of 119, the women’s team faced a tougher challenge.

Going into the final event of the invitational, the 4x400 relay, the Crimson was ahead by a slim two points.

“It was pretty exciting,” Saretsky said. “When the gun went off it seemed pretty clear it was going to be between us and BC. We had a two-point lead, but if they beat us we would lose by two. I was really proud of the girls for the way they competed and how they pulled out that victory to ensure the team win.”

“It was like we were running it ourselves, because we were just so excited,” said women’s co-captain Katrina Drayton, who watched from the sidelines. “I know everyone was ecstatic, just pulling for them, encouraging them all around the track.”

In addition to the 4x400 relay, the women’s track and field teams also took home gold in three other events, all won by freshmen. Olivia Weeks posted an 11.96-meter mark in the triple jump to win the event, while classmate Ashtynn Baltimore captured an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles despite placing second.

“It’s such a big, intense rivalry. Everybody did their part and performed really well,” fellow freshman Carlyle Davis said. “The entire atmosphere, the entire track meet was everyone cheering everybody on, busting out the big moves, it was pretty exciting.”

Davis, who anchored the 4x400 relay squad, had a good day herself, crossing the line in a solid first position in the 500-meter run. Her time of 1:13.60 was not only a meet record, but a potential school record as well, pending verification.

On the men’s side, early wins in the long jump and weight throw led to more and more momentum going into later events.

“The guys just did a great job of feeding off of each other and taking one success and building off of it to the next,” Saretsky said. “Sometimes in sports it just has a way of snowballing like that where things just kept going our way. It ended up being a little bit more of a decisive victory than I expected it to be.”

Freshman Kenneth Wang Kan got the ball rolling with wins in both the long jump and triple jump, earning marks of 6.93 and 14.37 meters, respectively. Classmate Jeremy Gilmour placed first in the 3,000-meter run, while junior Brian Hill and co-captain Justin Grinstead finished 0.57 seconds apart in the 500-meter run to grab first and second place.

The Crimson also boasted a number of IC4A qualifiers, as sophomores John Dingus, Steven Geloneck, and Darcy Wilson all made strides in their respective races.

Co-captain Jack Brady also enjoyed a standout performance, setting a meet record in the weight throw, and the 4x400 men’s relay team matched its female counterpart, as the group secured gold in the final event to officially give the Harvard men their second-consecutive Beantown title.

—Staff writer Alex Sopko can be reached at sopko@fas.harvard.edu.