Chenoweth Sets New Meet Record

Senior cross country runner Dan Chenoweth began his season the same way he ended it last year—by leaving the rest of the pack in the dust on his way to a decisive victory and a first-place finish.

The competition between Harvard and Yale remains one of the most exciting and classic rivalries in the country, and cross-country is no exception.

The annual dual meet that took place last weekend is one of the most anticipated matchups every year.

This year’s race marked the 98th meeting between the two historic rivals and also served as Chenoweth’s debut for the 2010 season.

“This was an important meet for us,” Chenoweth said. “It wasn’t too difficult of a course to run, but that didn’t mean we could slack off. I came to run, and I came to win, especially against Yale.”

This past weekend, Chenoweth sped through the eight kilometers of the Course at Yale with a time of 25:10.70, taking the title by finishing nearly 25 seconds ahead of the next runner, a significant margin of victory.

“I didn’t do anything different. [I] didn’t change my approach,” Chenoweth said. “I just wanted to go out and hang back, then make my move later and take the lead.”

He not only cruised past the competition, but his time also surpassed the course and meet records, adding more accolades to a lengthy list of accomplishments compiled over his collegiate career.

“I knew what the record was before I started,” Chenoweth said, when asked about setting the new meet and course records. “But it wasn’t an explicit goal of mine. I knew I was getting close, but all I wanted to do was get ahead of Yale and make sure that I got that first-place spot for [the team].”

“I’m not surprised,” Crimson coach Jason Saretsky said. “[Chenoweth] is at that level of experience where that kind of record is what he is capable of. I’m at the point where I expect that kind of performance from him every time he comes out.”

Chenoweth ended last season as the 2009 Ivy League Heptagonals Champion, Harvard’s first individual champion since 1995.

He also earned first-team All-Ivy League honors at the Heps for the first time in his career last season.

Undoubtedly, there were high expectations for his performance this season.

After his outing over the weekend, any doubts about what shape he would be in were quickly answered, as Chenoweth picked up right where he left off with a dominant showing in his first race of the year.

“It’s always hard to come out for the first meet of the season,” Chenoweth said. “But it felt really good to come out and run, and see how well I would perform against other strong competitors.”

“He looked better than I had expected,” Saretsky said of Chenoweth’s performance. “He’s an incredibly hard-working young man, and he’s in a great spot. He can be even better than he is right now, and that’s saying something.”

This marks the third time in as many years that Chenoweth has won the dual meet, and the Lowell House resident shows no sign of stopping his winning ways any time soon.

While the race for first place was a blowout in Chenoweth’s favor, his individual performance was not enough to propel the Crimson men past Yale, as the Bulldogs finished with 24 points to Harvard’s 34.

The race also marked the first time the Crimson men were defeated by Yale at the event in the last four years, the first time since Chenoweth began college.

Chenoweth was the only member of the men’s squad to finish in the top four, with the next runners from Harvard finishing in fifth and sixth, respectively.

The captain knows that while the defeat may be partially attributed to inexperience, everyone on the team can perform better and run faster, including himself.

“I’m confident that by the end of the season, all of us guys will have improved,” Chenoweth said. “We’re going to be better, and we’re going to win.”