Bossong Topples Ivy Record in Strong Weekend for Harvard Track and Field

Harvard’s track and field team excelled across four separate tournaments this past weekend, with athletes beating several personal records and senior Victoria Bossong besting the Ivy League record in the 800 meters.

Bossong had a particularly notable weekend, as she broke the two-minute mark in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:59:48. The Cumberland Foreside, Maine., native now ranks first in the NCAA for this event this season.

Starting this past Thursday, Harvard track and field participated in four separate track meets around the country, with the team making significant in all four.

The team came into the week with momentum following the Crimson’s and Yale’s victory against Oxford and Cambridge during the Harvard-Yale vs Oxford-Cambridge meet.

Mt. Sac Relays

The Mt. Sac Relays — held at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, California — saw highlights like sophomore Isaac Delaney earning a fourth-place finish in the men’s shot put with a career-best 17.26 meters throw.

Women’s shot put also found success with freshman Tyler Glover securing sixth place with a high-yielding throw of 14.57 meters.

The Harvard team also saw a good result in the open women’s hammer throw. Senior Cara Salsberry finished in seventh place, and Sophomore Alice Mihas followed behind in 13th place.

Sophomore Emilia Kolokotroni finished eighth in the hammer throw event after beating her personal record, becoming second all-time in the history of the women’s hammer throw program at Harvard.

However, the largest success came as senior Kenneth Ikeji won the men’s Hammer Throw with a season’s best throw of 75.20m. Ikenji, who won the indoor weight throw national championship in March of 2024, will vie for the title again this spring.

Tom Jones Invitational

The Tom Jones Invitational took place at the University of Florida on Saturday and was one of the most eventful competitions this past weekend, especially for the team’s sprinters.

Freshman track and field pole vaulter Ella McRitchie noted that the invitational is regarded as “the number one outdoor meet in the country.” The Tom Jones Invitational is one of McRitchie’s first meets since facing injury earlier in the season.

The invitational had several highlights, such as sophomore Marta Amani taking fourth place in the women’s 400-meter open, where she ranks fifth all-time for Harvard. Men’s sprinter Hudson Allain also earned eighth place in the 400-meter open.

The men’s 4x100-meter relay team took 11th place after breaking a previous record set by Harvard earlier in the year. The relay team, composed of junior Jonas Clarke, sophomore Timi Esan, and freshmen Jordan Coleman and LeRoy Horton, ran the event in 39.34 seconds. Their performance earned them the title of the COOP Student-Athletes of the Week.

“It’s really fun to see a lot of our relays do super well,” McRitchie said. “It’s great to have the team come together and bond over that event because it’s always exciting watching the relays.”

For the Crimson, the meet’s peak came when Bossong took second in the women’s 800 meters, which broke the Ivy League record for the event set in 1990. Her performance at the Tom Jones Invitational has moved her up to the top of the national performance list and eighth in NCAA history.

To summarize the meet, McRitchie noted the “hopeful” atmosphere that the weekend brought to the team for the rest of their season.

“This meet really got everybody very stoked about Heps coming up,” McRitchie said.

After falling to Princeton in the indoor Ivy League Heptagonal Championship meet this winter, the Crimson women’s team has its sights set on a redemption victory this outdoor season. The meets this weekend “really showed that we definitely have the ability to do that,” explained McRitchie.

Sean Collier Invitational

Within the first evening of the Sean Collier Invitational at MIT on Saturday, senior Cristina DeMeo ended in sixth place in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:40.82.

Junior Reuben Henry-Daire collected first place in the men’s 400 meters with a running time of 49.04. Sophomore Chris Ruano nabbed sixth in the men’s high jump following a 1.88-meter clear, while Junior Justin Levy finished seventh in the men’s 800 meters.

Freshman Camren Ware also secured 12th place in the 100-meter sprint, completing the race in 10.92 seconds.

Wake Forest Invitational

The Wake Forest Invitational started with the men’s 10,000m, where senior Ben Rosa ran a personal best, garnering third in the event.

In the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, two Crimson athletes set personal records, with freshman William Brunner finishing fifth in the event with a time of 9:05.06 and sophomore Ethan Aidam coming in 28th with a time of 9:40.55

The weekend ended with a multitude of personal records broken, demonstrating a successful season of progress for the entire team.

“The whole team atmosphere in general is very hopeful for lots of good times,” said McRitchie.

— Staff writer Neeraja S. Kumar can be reached at neeraja.kumar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @neerajasrikumar.