Track and Field Breezes through Final Home Meet

For many Harvard runners, Friday marked the last chance ever to don the crimson and white before a home crowd. The Ivy Heptagonal Championships looms just three weekends away, so the Crimson Elite stood as the final competition for seniors in Cambridge.

Several top finishers stayed home, others traveled to Boston University, and a few did both. For everyone, it was a home meet in reality, if not name.

“The only way I would describe how I felt is that I was grateful,” men’s captain Julian Nunally said. “I've been honored to have been given the chance to walk onto the track team and compete with all of my heart for four years. I love my teammates, and I am glad to have made friends for life.”

CRIMSON ELITE

Hosting the final indoor track meet of the season at the Gordon Indoor Track facility, the Crimson men’s team finished in second place overall, only two points behind first-place Connecticut. The women’s team placed sixth out of the nine competing programs.

In the sprints, sophomore Gabby Thomas placed in the 60-meter dash, as she has been doing all season, claiming third with a solid time of 7.44 seconds. Teammate Jade Miller, a senior, placed eighth in the 60-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 8.55 seconds.

The men’s sprinters also maintained positions near the front of the pack. With a time of 8.07, junior Jay Hebert claimed bronze in the 60-meter hurdles. In the 400-meter dash, freshman Jacob McLennan posted a career-best time of 49.73 leading the team to its second bronze. He was followed closely by senior teammate James Heckendorn, who placed fourth in his season debut in the event.

The first gold medal of the weekend came as freshman Will Battershill fended off Wyatt Million, a junior runner from Connecticut, for a finishing time of 4:18.57. Million finished a mere 0.14 seconds later.

While only two of the women’s team placed in the running events, the field portion of the team excelled. Senior Nikki Owkelogu claimed gold in the shot put competition with a 16.08 meter throw. In weight throw, she placed seventh with a oss of 16.29 meters.

For the freshmen in long jump, it was a day to remember, as well. Both Simi Fajemisin and Zoe Hughes broke personal records this season, while Fajemisin performed the fourth best jump in school history to take fifth place with a leap of 5.90 meters. Hughes finished right behind her in sixth with a leap of 5.85 meters.

Women’s captain Raegan Nizdil led the team in high jump after a 1.65-meter spring to take seventh. With a personal best of 3.80 meters in pole vault, Nicole Renchard claimed the third-place position.

The men placed three members in jumping events along the team’s path to the second spot on the podium. Freshman Donagh Mahon led the group with a first-place jump of 1.94 meters in the high jump competition. Silver came with a 4.95 meter jump from sophomore Ian West in pole vault, while Nunally took third in shot put following a 16.43 meter throw.

“Importantly, the weight throw at this meet was one of my favorite memories,” Nunally said. “It was the last event of the meet, and a large portion of the team was watching and cheering me on. I thought their cheers were unwarranted, because I just started the weight this year and I am not very good. However, their energy really fueled my throws.”

SCARLET AND WHITE INVITATIONAL

Several student athletes traveled to the Scarlet and White Invitational hosted at Boston University on Saturday. Overall, the two teams racked up three gold medals.

“It's a good base to work off as we head towards the Ivy League Championships,” Mahon said. “We are excited and keen as ever to compete for ourselves and each other as we get closer to the big competitions. We're really just getting started.”

The lone man to ascend to the top spot on the podium was sophomore Myles Marshall. The runner clocked Harvard’s second-fastest time, only 0.05 seconds behind his own record, in the 800-meter dash.

The other two golds went to the women’s teams. In the 4x400-meter relay, a lineup consisting of Hughes, Thomas, Miller, and freshman Karina Joiner claimed the top spot in a time of 3:39.50. This result represents the fourth-fastest time in Crimson history. Senior Sarah Gillespie also took first place with a 2:56.37 1000-meter run.

In the sprints, Herbert posted a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.08 seconds. Joiner represented the women in the same event, pulling eighth place in just 8.81 seconds. Achieving his season best, freshman Micah Meekins took seventh in the 200-meter dash.

In the 400-meter dash, the runners from Harvard both achieved marks. For Heckendorn, his 13th-place, 49.33 finish represented a season best. Miller set a career best herself with 54.39 finish for fourth place. In the mile, freshman Brook Starn also claimed a season best with a time of 4:55.10, as she kicked her way to sixth place.

—Staff writer Cade Palmer can be reached at cade.palmer@thecrimson.com.