Crimson Races Untested Runners at Wisconsin Adidas Invitational

Competing against some of the top teams in the nation, Harvard’s men and women’s cross country teams had a run for their money—or for their ranking.

On Friday, the teams competed at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. The women’s team came in 40th place out of 43 teams, scoring two runners in the top 200 of the “A” race. Individually, the men’s team had a strong outing in the “B” race, as five of its runners ranked in the top 60.

“I was really pleased with the progression that we made from two weeks ago,” Crimson coach Jason Saretsky said. “We competed well and saw an important improvement, but also some technical things to improve on before the championship meet two weeks from now.”

Many players used the race to gain experience, as the invitational presented an unusually competitive field for Harvard.

“I think the meet was a good stepping stone for the things coming up for us later in the season,” sophomore Aaron Watanabe said. “The meet gave us a chance to get in a good race. It also gave us the opportunity for some guys to travel out to a meet and show that they’re ready to run at a high level.”

In a meet stacked with several of the best teams in the country, Watanabe ran the eight-kilometer race in a time of 25:24, good for 13th place overall and first for the Crimson.

But, he was still not completely satisfied with his performance.

“It was an interesting race because we were racing against teams we have never competed against before,” Watanabe said. “I didn’t know what to expect. It didn’t quite play out like I hoped, but it seems like a good experience for me to know what it’s like to run towards the front of a race.”

Watanabe’s performance was not the only notable run of the day, as junior Jakob Lindaas placed 36th overall with a time of 25:54, followed by freshman Will Geikan, who completed the race in 25:58.

Several of Harvard’s top runners were noticeably missing from the lineup, among them sophomore James Leakos and freshman Billy Orman, the two top runners for the Crimson from the last meet.

“They had some things that were bothering them, so they were being cautious,” Watanabe said. “But it gave the guys that did go out a really good chance to start getting the mindset of being serious competitors.”

Saretsky expects Leakos to be ready for the Ivy League championships.

“He’s a little banged up,” Saretsky said. “James is such a competitor and is having such a great season that we didn’t want to take that unnecessary risk at Wisconsin.”

The competition for the women’s team was no less fierce. Among the squads present were Villanova and Providence, ranked first and second nationally, respectively. Senior Jeanne Mack led Harvard with a 171st-place finish (21:43), followed by fellow senior Kailyn Kuzmuk (21:43), who came in 198th. Freshman Viviana Hanley rounded off Harvard’s top three, as she finished 203rd (21:43).

“I think our women’s team has a really tight pack, from our No. 1 runner to our No. 5 runner,” Saretsky said. “From that point, we are doing a really good job of running together. Going into the championship, having that pack is key.”

The Crimson was supposed to run at the Brown Invitational on Friday as well, but due to external conditions, the decision was made to forego the race.

“We decided to not compete at Brown because of the weather,” Saretsky said. “The amount of rain affected it, and the course can be a little iffy to begin with—there is already much mud and a lot of roots on that course.”

Right now, Harvard is focused on building on the results from this meet and progressing together as a unit, rainy weather or not.

“As a team, we’re really looking forward to getting everyone back and healthy,” Watanabe said. “Then, we can really focus on having good team results. We certainly have the pieces to put together a really good championship race.”