Cross Country's Purnell Qualifies for Nationals

For the second year in a row, the NCAA Cross Country Nationals will have a representative from Harvard among its competitors.

Leading the Crimson with an 18th place finish at the NCAA Northeast Regionals this weekend, junior Tom Purnell was awarded an at-large individual bid from the NCAA committee. This will be the second year in a row that Purnell will compete in Terre Haute, Ind., after he was a member of the men’s group that qualified last season.

“The big highlight was getting Tom through to the National Championship,” coach Jason Saretsky said. “He’s continuing to get some great experiences against the nation’s best, and we’re pleased with the way that he has been developing.”

While both the men’s and women’s team looked to qualify for nationals as a team by placing in the first two slots over the weekend, Harvard ultimately fell short of its goal. The men finished sixth and the women placed 11th.

The men came in with a chip on their shoulders as they attempted to move on from a seventh place finish at Heptagonals.

“It was an open race,” Purnell said. “We had been training well, but we weren’t able to piece it together [at Heps].”

Purnell came down the finishing chute with a time of 30:46.12 and was followed by captain Will Geiken, who crossed the finish line with a time of 31:01.75, good enough for 25th place.

Junior Chris Allen clocked a time of 31:20.51 for a 41st place finish. Senior classmates Nephat Maritim and Daniel Milechman finished off the scoring contingent for the Crimson with times of 31:24.67 and 31:30.67, finishing 44th and 51st, respectively.

While the team was unable to nab one of two automatic qualifying spots for nationals, Harvard was able to exact some revenge on its Ancient Eight rivals. The Crimson finished ahead of Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth, beating three of the five Ivy squads present at the competition.

The only result with further postseason implications came a day later with the announcement of Purnell’s inclusion in the nationals field, building upon an already impressive season for the Second Team All-Ivy runner.

“It feels great,” Purnell said. “One of main goals for the season was to qualify. I had a good experience last year but I didn’t run very well, so I wanted to get another shot.”

Meanwhile, the women came into the event hoping to return to nationals after having barely missed out on an at-large bid following a third-place finish at regionals the year prior. This year the women’s team again missed out on qualifying for future play, as the women finished with a total of 283 points and an 11th place finish.

Senior Molly Refner led the Crimson with time of 20:54.81 on the 6k course, matching Purnell with an 18th place finish.

Fellow seniors Whitney Thornburg and Viviana Hanley followed with times of 21:23.45 and 21:34.58, good enough for 42nd and 56th. The scoring contingent was closed out by junior Paige Kouba and captain Alaina Alvarez, who both finished inside the top 85 of the 275-person field with times of 21:51.76 and 21:52.90, respectively.

Though the women did not manage to extend their season like they had hoped, Saretsky believes that the team performed well and was able to walk away with their heads held high.

“They competed well, competed hard, and left it all out there on the course,” Saretsky said. “Molly Refner had a great run, maybe her best cross country race during her time here.

Though the season is over for the women, Purnell now sets his eyes on nationals, while the rest of the team look to close out their seasons on a high note at the IC4A Championships next weekend at Van Cortland Park, N.Y.

—Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at jfierro01@college.harvard.edu.