Athlete of the Week 11/12: Runners Up

Fencer Jerry Chang’s impressive showing in the Garret Penn State Open may have earned him The Crimson’s Athlete of the Week honors this week, but a medley of other athletes turned in excellent performances as well, earning them acknowledgment on the runners-up list.

Jimmy Vesey, Men’s Hockey

The freshman forward is quickly becoming a vital part of Harvard’s offense and is on pace to become the Crimson’s top scorer; six games into the season, he leads the team with seven goals—three more than the next-highest scorer. The rookie netted three of those scores this weekend, giving Harvard one of its two goals in the 6-2 loss to Union and tallying his other two in the 4-0 shutout of Rensselaer. Vesey scored the final two goals against the Engineers, one off of his own rebound, to help the Crimson pull away from its opponent and break a two-game losing streak.

Kendall Crawford, Women’s Swimming

The women’s team had a record-breaking day at Cornell’s Teagle Hall Pool as it took down its first Ivy opponents, the Big Red and Big Green. The freshman contributed one of the eight records of the day, posting a blistering time of 55.04 in the 100-yard backstroke, a time that surpassed both the pool record and the Harvard record, previously held by Megan Leddy. Crawford also swam the backstroke leg of the 200-yard medley relay, contributing to the first-place team finish of 1:45.25.

Novice Eight, Radcliffe Heavyweight Crew

The newest rowers of Radcliffe Heavyweight Crew have had a dominating start to their careers, finishing the fall season without a loss. The novice eight wrapped up its competition in the fall with a victory at the Foot of the Charles, racing the 2.5-mile home course in 13:41.5—over 20 seconds ahead of the second-place Boston College crew. With this final regatta under its belt, the novice division has cruised through its first collegiate races, outpacing its competitors by an average of 17 seconds.

Maksim Korolev, Men’s Cross Country

Korolev will be joining the women’s cross country team at the NCAA Championships after his stellar performance at the Northeast NCAA Regionals earned him an individual bid to the championships. The junior flew through the 10k course in 30:16.2, averaging less than five minutes per mile, good enough to snag second place out of a field of 239 runners. Korolev’s performance, along with that of teammate junior James Leakos, catapulted the men’s team into a sixth-place finish out of 39 schools.