Best In Boston! Track and Field Claims Both Titles at Fifth Annual Battle of Beantown

Jarvis Harris broke the school record in the 60 meter hurdles at the Battle of Beantown Friday (Photo Courtesy: Brian Walters Photo).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Facing the top talent in the Boston area, the Harvard track and field team posted a pair of convincing wins as both the men's and women's squads took home the title at the fifth annual Battle of Beantown Friday night at Gordon Indoor Track. The win is the third straight for the women's team, while the men also claimed their third title and first since 2010.  

The women posted the highest point total on the day, collecting 196 points to top Boston University (176), MIT (70) and Northeastern (67). The men also broke the 190-point mark, posting a score of 191 to defeat Northeastern (156.50), MIT (93) and BU (66.50).

"I am really pleased with how both our women and men competed today," said director of track and field/cross country Jason Saretsky. "This is always a fun, competitive meet, and it was great to see both of our squads hoist the trophies at the conclusion of the event. We'll need to gear up for an even bigger effort next weekend when we take on historical rivals Yale and Princeton, but I am excited about this group of student-athletes and what they can accomplish together."

Alexandra Pace was one of a number of Crimson athletes to win events and put a dent on the school all-time list. A dominating victory in the women's pole vault was capped by a winning vault of 3.81 meters (12' 6"), topping her personal best by .26 meters and setting the all-time school record in the event. Her mark was nearly .20 meters ahead of the second-place finisher, and represents a Battle of Beantown record. Olivia Weeks kept up the fire in the women's field events, capturing the triple jump title with a 12.51-meter (41' 0.5") leap, breaking her personal best by a foot, and notching the second-best distance in program history. Shannon Watt also posted a meet record in a commanding win in the shot put, launching a toss of 14.42 (47' 3.75") for a personal best and the fourth-best toss in school annals.

Senior Meg Looney continued to own the middle distances, turning in a time of 1:14.19 in the 500, winning the race and posting the third-fastest time in team history, just 0.5 seconds off the school record. Rookie Gabrielle Scott ran the sixth fastest time in school history in the 400, setting a meet record in 56.35, and classmates Erika Veidis and Molly Renfer finished 1-2 in the 800. Veidis, Renfer, Magdalena Robak and Olivia Abbate teamed up for a victory in the 4x440-yard relay and Mary Hirst took the high jump title to cap the highlights on the women's side.

Jarvis Harris broke an 11-year old school record in the 60 hurdles, posting a time of 8.11 to capture the event by .12 seconds in a meet record time. The rookie also set a personal best with a 14.42-meter (47' 3.75") leap in the triple jump, capturing the title in a meet-record performance on his final attempt. The Crimson men also had a banner day in the sprints, as Damani Wilson, Conner McCarthy and Andrew Ezekoye all posted Harvard all-time top-10 times in the 60 meters, in their competitive debuts with the track team. Wilson won the event with a time of 6.83, good for a meet record and third in Harvard history, while McCarthy (6.94, third, fifth all-time) and Ezekoye (6.95 (prelims), sixth, sixth all-time) also scored points in the race and qualified for IC4As.

Jared Kadich recorded a win in the 200 with a time of 22.34 and Darcy Wilson took the 800 in 1:52.24. The Crimson also got first-place finishes from its 4x440-yard and distance medley relay teams to pad its overall lead in the meet.

The Crimson men had firm control of the shot put as rookie Ben Glauser turned in yet another noteworthy performance, leading a 1-2-4-5 Harvard finish with a throw of 17.83 (58' 6"). Dustin Brode, Igor Liokumovich and Edward Brucker also scored to make it the highest-scoring event of the entire meet for Harvard. Nico Weiler chipped in to the overall total with a win in the pole vault, clearing 4.95 (16' 2.75").

Harvard stays in Cambridge next weekend as it squares off against two of the Ivy Leagues top teams at the annual HYP meet.