Blanks Defends Title, Becomes 2024 Ivy League Cross Country Champion

This past Saturday, Graham Blanks made history yet again. By running the fastest 8 km time in Ivy League Heptagonal Championship history, with a remarkable 22:14.6 finish — 32 seconds ahead of Penn’s Dylan Throop — Blanks defended his conference title in dominant fashion.

Blanks is now only the second runner in Harvard men’s program history to successfully defend his Ivy League title and just the eighth men’s student-athlete in conference history to win two or more individual Ivy League championships in their collegiate career.

For Blanks, his game plan was clear: take the lead early and set a quick pace from the start.

“We thought as a team, we had a better shot if the race would be fast,” Blanks said. “So after two minutes, I kind of just took the lead. And then from there, I just tried to wind it up, and by about three miles I was running alone and then, I just kind of finished it in.”

Alongside Blanks’ stellar performance, both the men’s and women’s teams delivered impressive second place finishes. The women’s team finished with 53 points, 13 points behind first place Princeton and the men’s team finished with 62 points, 11 points behind Princeton. All five female scorers finished in the top 15, with junior Molly Malague leading the way with a fifth place finish, earning First team All-Ivy League honors with a time of 20:18.1.

Behind Malague, the rest of the women’s team also turned in strong performances. Junior Penelope Salmon finished right after Malague for a sixth place finish, with a time of 20:23.1. Senior Ellaney Matarese posted a time of 20:41.6 to earn thirteenth place, followed by senior Ella Gilson, who crossed the finish line in fourteenth with a time of 20:43.2. Senior Zoe Cooper rounded out Harvard’s scoring, taking 15th place with a time of 20:46.3.

For the men’s team, Blanks — the captain of the men’s squad — came in first with a time of 22:14.6. Senior Ben Rosa earned his second All-Ivy League honoree title due to his fourth place finish with a time of 22:59.8. Junior Shane Brosnan finished in ninth place with a time of 23:13.9, followed by sophomore Sam Burgess finishing in twelfth place with a time of 23:19.6. First-year William Brunner rounded out Harvard’s scoring with his forty-third place finish with a time of 24:21.6.

Junior Molly Malague reflected on the women’s team’s second-place finish, noting the disappointment she felt after three consecutive years of securing first place.

“We were definitely bummed on the whole because we were very excited by the idea of getting four wins in a row — especially for the seniors to have won all of their Heps,” Malague said. “But I think we also recognized that Princeton just had a better day and we still ran well. It just wasn't well enough.”

This past Saturday marked the third consecutive year in which the men’s team came in second place behind Princeton. Despite falling just short of the title, Blanks and the rest of the men’s team remain hopeful as they look ahead to the upcoming regional meet, where they hope to deliver strong performances to earn a spot at the NCAA National Championship.

“Even losing Heps, we are still optimistic with where we're at and we think there's no reason that we can't finish the highest the team ever has at Harvard at NCAAs,” Blanks explained. “We're really looking forward to getting back on the right foot and trying to finish the season strong.”

Similar to the men’s team, the women’s squad has shifted their focus to the upcoming NCAA regional meet, strategizing on how to best prepare and leverage their unique strengths.

“Our coach has cased out the regional course in New Hampshire, and it appears very hilly and will require us to be pretty gritty, which our team is very good at,” Malague explained. “So hopefully that course will be especially a good fit for us.”

With the challenging hilly terrain of the NCAA regional meet ahead, Blanks shared how he and the rest of the men’s squad are adjusting their preparation to match the environment.

“It will probably be a more tactical race, unlike Heps.” Blanks said. “It'll probably be a little bit slower, and then wind up towards the end.”

The Crimson will be vying for a top-two finish, in order to secure one of the automatic qualifying spots for nationals.

“We're going to make sure we're ready for the last two kilometers — the last five-ten minutes of the race, because at the end of the day, that's where the most of the points are going to be scored,” Blanks explained.

While the prospect of qualifying for nationals is thrilling, only the top eight athletes — seven runners and one alternate — compete in regionals, fighting for the team’s spot at nationals. After Heps, the section of the team not competing at regionals will continue training for a 3,000 meter time trial at Harvard’s Gordon Indoor Track. Blanks emphasized that this is a cherished tradition, allowing the rest of the team to get used to the demands of a full season and preparing them for when they eventually make it into the top eight later in their careers.

“The team always gets super hyped up for it, and all the guys come and watch,” Blanks explained. “Last year we started doing walkout intros on the speaker, and it made it a lot of fun.”

With the 3,000-meter time trial, the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet, and the potential to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Harvard Cross Country has an exciting few weeks ahead. The Crimson will begin its postseason journey next week, on Friday, Nov. 15 at the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet in Hopkinton, N.H..

— Staff writer Natalie T. Weiner can be reached at natalie.weiner@thecrimson.com.