Track and Field Resurrects Meeting of the Minds Over Spring Break

Nicole Sliva is one of four captains this season for the Crimson (Harvard Athletic Communications).

HOUSTON, Texas – This Wednesday and Thursday, the Harvard track and field team will reestablish a decades-old tradition with a dual meet against spring break host Rice University.

"The team has been coming down here to Houston for almost 30 years now," said Harvard head coach Jason Saretsky. "Over the last five years, our coaches had heard many great stories about the 'Meeting of the Minds' from older coaches and alums so when we had a chance to resurrect the meet this year, we knew we had to go for it."

"Jim Bevan, Jon Warren and the rest of the Rice staff are just as excited as we are and it is going to be a great meet to open the outdoor season for both sides. We really can't thank the Rice staff enough for making this possible."

The meet will be the first of the outdoor season for the Crimson, which is in Houston all week as part of its annual spring break trip. "The indoor season went pretty well but we know we can do even better outdoors," said Saretsky. "This meet will be the first stage for a lot of our student-athletes to either switch gears to outdoor events or realign their sites for the outdoor Heptagonal Championships and beyond.  We have javelin throwers that have been chomping at the bit all indoor season for a chance to compete, discus and hammer throwers that will switch to their outdoor implements in the longer sector, and Heptathletes that move from the five-event pentathlon to the seven-event, two-day heptathlon.

"We've also planned some twists to get the competitive juices flowing throughout the team.  For the first time since I have been here, our middle distance athletes are going to toe the line for a 600-meter run and we have many of our jumpers running relays and sprint events that they've never competed in before. This meet is going to be a lot of fun."

The Meeting of the Minds will be a two-day meet taking place Wednesday and Thursday this week.