Pair of Victories Highlight Weekend for Track and Field

Idle moments are hard to come by in the world of track and field.

While many students took the past weekend to travel home and spend Easter and Passover with their families, the Harvard track and field team was as busy as ever. The squad, split among three different meets, turned in a number of strong performances over the weekend, including some that earned event wins and were personal bests.

“We had an outstanding weekend,” Crimson coach Jason Saretsky said. “It was a busy weekend for us, with three competitions in three states, but I was very pleased overall with how our different groups performed.”

COLONIAL RELAYS

The Crimson only sent two representatives, sophomore James Leakos and senior Kailyn Kuzmuk, to the 47th annual Colonial Relays, hosted by The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. The pair of runners, who are also members of the Harvard cross country team, turned in top-10 finishes in the 5k and in the process earned spots in the Crimson record books.

Kuzmuk crossed the finish line in 16:34—the sixth fastest time in the event in Harvard history—en route to an eighth-place finish in the women’s competition.

Leakos followed suit, averaging a 4:29 mile in his race to finish in sixth place with a final time of 13:56.

“I took [the race] out a little conservatively,” Leakos said. “But I kept building and jumping to the next pack in front of me.”

When all was said and done, Leakos had run the fastest 5k of his collegiate career and had become the third Harvard runner to run a sub-14 minute outdoor 5k.

“[Leakos’ and Kuzmuk’s] performances were outstanding,” Saretsky said. “Both of those times in years past would get to them into the NCAA opening rounds.”

The duo was originally slated to compete in Princeton, N.J. to face off against Princeton’s elite distance team. But because many of the Tigers’ best distance runners competed in the 5000m run last weekend, Saretsky decided to send Leakos and Kuzmuk elsewhere to face tough competition.

SAM HOWELL INVITATIONAL

While Kuzmuk and Leakos were taking care of business in Williamsburg, another member of the cross country team, sophomore Maksim Korolev, was making waves in Princeton.

Korolev took home third place in the 1500m run on Saturday, finishing in just 3:57. The sophomore also competed in part of the 10,000m run on Friday night to get some experience racing the longer distances.

“Maks is doing great,” Saretsky said. “He is a couple weeks behind [Leakos] in his training, but I’m feeling good about how he is coming along…. This weekend was a major step forward for him.”

But Korolev was not the only member of the Crimson who progressed over the weekend.

Freshman Jarvis Harris, who broke the Harvard school record in the 60m hurdles during the indoor season, earned the event title in the triple jump and second place in the 110m hurdles.

Since the hurdles used in collegiate track and field are higher than those used at the high school level, Harris’ early success has caught the eye of his coaches.

“Making the transition as a freshman is a challenging, but Jarvis is very motivated and obviously cares very much about track,” Saretsky said. “He works hard, and it is great to see him being able to shine despite the transition.”

On the women’s side, junior Mary Hirst picked up an event win for Harvard in the high jump. Hirst cleared 1.75m to edge out Columbia’s Monique Roberts for the event victory.

“Mary has been a model of consistency for us all season long,” Saretsky said. “She does a great job every week, and I think as the season moves on, we’re going to see her soar to even greater heights.”

GEORGE DAVIS INVITATIONAL

Meanwhile at the George Davis Invitational in Lowell, Mass., a familiar name appeared at the top of the men’s pole vault results.

Junior Nico Weiler continued to have success in the event, as he cleared 5.20m to earn yet another event title.

“Nico is just a winner,” Saretsky said. “He’s a champion. He knows how to compete and does an outstanding job of rising to the occasion.... Everything is primed for him to be in his best shape down the stretch when it matters most.”

—Staff writer Dominic A. Martinez can be reached at dmartinez@college.harvard.edu.