Track and Field Recognizes Stand-Out Student-Athletes at Annual Banquet

The Crimson placed fourth (men) and seventh (women) at the Outdoor Heptagonal Championships in 2011 (Photo Courtesy: Ivy League).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard track and field team held its annual team banquet Wednesday night in Gordon Track where it handed out team awards for the 2010-11 season. In all, the program doled out 22 team awards at the event. The team also announced captains for the 2011-12 season.   

Junior distance runner Kailyn Kuzmuk earned the Pappy Hunt Improvement Award after stepping up in the distance events and the Hennessy Mile Relay Award went to the quartet of Meisha Brooks, Shannon Conway, Magdalena Robak and Christina Twicken, which posted the third fastest time in school history in the event at Heps last weekend. Brooks picked up two more team awards on the evening, receiving the Women’s Beyond the Call of Duty Award and the Schick Sprint Award to boost an impressive rookie campaign.

Senior Claire Richardson took home three awards on the evening, including being named the Women’s Most Outstanding Performer. She also was awarded the Jannergren “Overcoming Physical Adversity” Award, coming back from an injury in the fall to earn All-Ivy first-team accolades at outdoor Heps. Richardson’s final accolade of the evening was the Rita Raju Memorial Award.

The Bingham Relay Award went to the men’s 4x800 squad of Darcy Wilson, Brian Paison, Weishen Mead and Brian Hill, which set a new school record in the race at outdoor Heps. The McLaughlin Award, presented to the freshman that best embodies the qualities of fellowship and sportsmanship, went to Alaina Murphy and classmate Hannah Mayer won the Women’s Most Outstanding Performer prize.

Junior captain and heptathlete Nicole Sliva took home the Women’s Unsung Hero Award and freshman Adabelle Ekechukwu received the Francis J. Haggerty Award for Excellence in Women’s Track and Field. Hill earned his second award of the evening as recipient of the Nelson unsung Hero Award and freshman Dustin Brode, fresh off a victory in the shot put at Heps, took home the Little Shot Put Award.

Cross country captain Daniel Chenoweth earned two awards on the evening: the McCurdy Beyond the Call of Duty Award and the Watters Mile Award. Wilson and sophomore Fedor Garin shared the Helmus Improvement Award and senior Eric Clayman received the Carver Hammer and Weight Award for his prowess in the throwing events. Garin also took home the Robert W. Harwood Pole Vault Award and classmate Weeks picked up the Gourdin Broad Jump Award. The Ed Stowell Award went to senior captain Ablorde Ashigbi and John Dingus earned the Westmore Wilcox 440 Award as Harvard’s top 400 runner.

The program elected four captains, two men and two women, to lead the team in 2011-12. Nick Farnsworth and Brian Paison will serve as captains of the men’s team, while Christine Reed and Megan Looney will lead the women’s squad.    

Harvard is back in action this weekend at the ECAC and IC4A Championships in Princeton, N.J.