Harvard Set for NCAA Northeast Regional Saturday
Photo of senior cross country captain Chas Gillespie courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications.
The Harvard cross country teams return to action Saturday as
Boston University hosts the NCAA Northeast Regional at Franklin
Park.
The event serves as a qualifier for the NCAA Championships Nov. 23
in Terre Haute, Ind. The top two teams qualify with the next four
individuals advancing.
The men will run a 10k which will start at 2:30 p.m. The women are
slated to run a 6k that begins at 3:30 p.m.
Last Time Out
For the women, five Crimson runners finished in the top 20 at the
Ivy League Heptagonal Championships Oct. 30 and helped Harvard to a
runner-up finish, its best performance at the conference since
1995. Junior Claire Richardson placed sixth overall as the top
Harvard finisher while posting a personal best time of 17:28.
Freshman Sammy Silva finished 12th with a personal best time of
17:53.7. Junior Eliza Ives finished 15th and sophomores Nicole
Cochran and Kailyn Kuzmuk rounded out the scoring for the Crimson,
finishing 16th and 20th, respectively.
The Crimson is currently ranked third in the USTFCCA Northeast
region week six poll.
Junior Daniel Chenoweth won the individual title at Heps, helping
the Harvard men’s team to its second straight sixth-place
finish at the event. Chenoweth is the first individual champion
since Ian Carswell won the event in 1995. Chenoweth crossed the
finish line in 25:09.2, 10.5 seconds ahead of the second-place
finisher. Freshman Phil Galebach finished second for the Crimson at
29th overall. Rounding out the scoring for Harvard were Junior Ryan
Neely, freshman Jeremy Gilmour and sophomore Michael Hoffman.
All-Ivy League
Three Crimson runners earned All-Ivy League honors based on their
finishes at the Heptagonal Championships. Juniors Daniel Chenoweth
and Claire Richardson earned All-Ivy League selections for the
second consecutive year. Chenoweth is a four-time All-Ivy League
selection in cross country and track and field while Richardson has
earned conference honors five times thus far. Freshman Sammy Silva
also earned distinction as an All-Ivy second team runner.
Home Sweet Home
This is Harvard’s second event at Franklin Park this fall
and first running 6k and 10k distances. Both Crimson teams competed
Oct. 2 in the annual Harvard/Yale dual meet. Both Crimson teams
were victorious over their long-time rivals.
At Last Year's Regionals
The Harvard men finished eighth out of 34 teams in last
year’s race at Van Cortlandt Park and had five runners in the
top 100 of the 239-person race. Daniel Chenoweth finished first for
Harvard in sixth place to earn his spot at the NCAA Championships.
The Harvard women placed seventh and also had five runners in the
top 60 of the 247-person race. Claire Richardson finished first for
Harvard and seventh overall to punch a ticket to the NCAA
Championships.
Shooting for the NCAAs
The 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championship will be held at the
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind., Nov. 23.
Harvard has had at least one runner (male or female) qualify for
the meet in four of the last five years.
On the Horizon
The Crimson will travel back to New York City Nov. 21 for the
ECAC/IC4A Championships at Van Cortlandt Park.
