Women's Cross Country Wins HYP Meet, Purnell Takes Men's Heat

One year removed from last place finishes at the same meet last season, the Harvard men’s cross country team tied for second place and the women’s team took home a first-place finish by a one-point margin at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton contest this past Friday at Franklin Park in Boston.

“In the first mile, I just let the race play out, and we stayed together in one big pack,” sophomore Courtney Smith said. “Once we got to the backwoods, three Princeton girls and I had broken away. I wasn’t even sure I was going to race today. It was nice to get back out there after beginning practice only a few weeks ago.”

Smith, who spent most of the offseason nursing an injury, finished as the top runner for Harvard and second overall on the women’s side. Only Princeton’s Elizabeth Bird outran Smith, who finished seven seconds behind the race leader.

The Westchester, Pa., native improved on her performance in the same race from last season, boosting her finish from eighth to second. She also credited her teammates for helping push the team to the top of the podium.

“[Freshman] Kat Gillespie and [sophomore] Marissa Saenger, who were both running in their first college races, both scored for us,” Smith said. “That was huge for us in earning a first place team finish.”

Finishing just one spot and 19 seconds behind Smith was teammate and captain Paige Kouba. With a sixth-place finish, Gillespie joined Smith and Kouba as top-10 Crimson finishers. Sophomore Elianna Shwayder, Saenger, freshman Malia Ellington, and junior Rachel Hampton all scored for the Harvard team, finishing 11th, 14th, 15th, and 16th, respectively.

The team narrowly edged out Princeton for the overall team title, scoring 36 to Princeton’s 37, while Yale finished in third with 50 points on the women’s side.

“Going in, we knew it was an ambitious goal to try to beat Princeton,” Kouba said. “We gave it all we had, and it was enough to win [this meet] for the first time in 19 years. I think that’s a testament to our progress.”

In the men’s race, captain Thomas Purnell claimed first place with a time of 24:48, edging out three Princeton runners who joined the senior in the top four spots. Purnell’s victory led the Crimson to a second place tie with Yale. Tigers junior William Bertrand finished just one second behind Purnell.

“On the men’s side, we emphasized being competitive,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “These were two of the best teams in the Ivy League in Princeton and Yale. In terms of returners from last year’s Heps, they’re the first and third-best teams in the Ivy League. We wanted to mix it up, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Sophomore Ben Huffman was the next Crimson runner across the finish line, 20 seconds after his teammate Purnell, good for seventh place overall and a time of 25:08 in the eight-kilometer race.

Captain Chris Allen finished 11th for Harvard, while junior Brandon Price, freshman Austin Gilbert, and sophomore Louis Colson all earned points for the team, finishing 12th, 16th, and 17th overall, respectively.

The Princeton men’s team ran away with the championship, finishing four runners in the top ten, including three in the top four. The Tigers earned a 16-point victory over Harvard and Yale, which each scored 47 points.

“In terms of mindset, our teams are that much more focused, that much more sharp and hungry [compared to last year],” Saretsky said. “We’re really determined to have an outstanding season, and this is just the first step along that journey. It’s a great way to open up our season against our historic rivals, and I was very pleased with the outcome.”

—Staff writer Michael P. Dybala can be reached at michaeldybala@college.harvard.edu.