In Outdoor Season Open, Three School Records Fall for Harvard Track and Field

Harvard track and field traveled to Houston, Texas to compete at the Houston Spring Break Invite on Thursday, March 16. Six events were won by the Crimson, and three school records were broken.

“Our men’s program is coming off of a historic indoor season, where we scored more than 30 points than any other men’s program has in Harvard history,” junior sprinter Lance Ward said. “Going into the first meet of the outdoor season, our coach said ‘Let’s continue that trajectory. Let’s keep chasing that Ivy Title.’”

Senior Stephanie Ratcliffe started Harvard out with a win in the women’s hammer throw, scoring a mark of 67.16 m. The mark is the furthest an NCAA Division I athlete has thrown this year, putting the Australian native first in the nation. In addition, the mark also beat her previous school record in the event. Ratcliffe’s teammate, senior Cammy Garabian, joined her on the podium, taking fifth place in the event with a throw of 58.16 m, putting her third in the nation.

Next, sophomore Anastasia Retsa broke a record for the Crimson in the pole vault, jumping at 4.16 m high to win the event. She also leads the event nationally, as her mark is just 0.11 m higher than any other female athlete in the event this season.

Senior Estel Valeanu earned the gold medal in the women’s discus and shot put, with throws of 53.50 m and 14.44 m respectively. Her throw in the discus was enough to put her in first place nationally.

On the track, Harvard’s sprint team had several standout performances.

The Crimson women’s team earned gold and silver in the 100 m hurdles, with Sophomore Izzy Goudros and first-year Josefina Biernacki running times of 13.66 seconds and 13.81 seconds, respectively.

On the men’s side, senior Samuel Bennett took gold in the 110 m hurdles, crossing the finish line with a time of 13.75 seconds.

The men’s 4x100 m relay team, consisting of first-year Collin Fullen, Ward, sophomore Jaeschel Acheampong, and first-year Jonas Clarke added to the Harvard record book as well, running a 40.19-second relay time to put them first in the meet.

“I think we were all really excited about seeing what we could do this week, we were all practicing with the 4x1 guys for a few weeks leading up to the meet,” said Ward about the anticipation surrounding the relay. “We knew that we had something special, and we’re really happy with the performance at this outdoor meet, but we also know that that’s just the beginning of what’s to come.”

Senior Aaron Shirley won the 400 m hurdles, getting gold with a time of 51.62 seconds, a near two seconds faster than the second-place finisher. His time places him second in the national league.

Ward also earned himself gold in the 200 m, running an impressive time of 20.90 seconds, putting him in sixth place in the NCAA standings.

The men’s 4x100 m relay team, consisting of first-year Collin Fullen, Ward, sophomore Jaeschel Acheampong, and first-year Jonas Clarke made marks in the Harvard record book as well, running a 40.19 second relay time.

Going forward through the spring season, the Crimson look to be on level with their competitors.

“I think it’s mainly Princeton for the men’s team,” said Ward in reference to Harvard’s biggest competition going into the outdoor season. “They’re nationally ranked, and we are of the same caliber, and we’re looking to prove that we can hang with them and knock them off their pedestal. So stay tuned, because we’re coming for them.”

The track and field team sent athletes to compete at the Raleigh Relays in N.C., with a few distance runners making it into the top ten at the meet. This weekend, the team will continue competition at the UMass Lowell Riverhawk Invite in Lowell, Mass., as well as at the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla.

— Staff writer Nadia A. Fairfax can be reached at nadia.fairfax@thecrimson.com.