Director of track and field and cross country Jason Saretsky announced his incoming freshmen class for cross country Wednesday. The rookie class is made up of 12 men and eight women hailing from six states (California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York) and two countries (Canada and England).

California is well represented in the class of 2013 as six Golden State natives will compete for the Crimson this fall. Ranvir Dhillon, Weishen Mead, Stephanie Barnett, Carlyle Davis, Morgan Kelly and Sammy Silva all hail from the Golden State. New Yorkers and New Jsersey are well represented as well with three crossing state lines into Massachusetts, Joseph Brancale, Kevin Sprague and Jared Squires are all from the Empire State, while Zach Herring, Sean Pohorence and Brianna Jackucewicz come from the Garden State. Two runners each from Massachusetts (Phil Galebach and Ellie Hylton), Minnesota (Stewart Richardson and Jakob Lindaas) and England (Jeremy Gilmour and Sarah Hopkinson) one from Canada (Jeff Homer) and one for  Illinois (Roey Hines) round out the incoming class.

Three newcomers have older siblings who currently compete or have competed for the Crimson. Phil Galebach's older brother, Tim '07 was an NCAA qualifier, Stewart Richardson's older sister, Claire '11 will be a junior this fall, while Kevin Sprague's sister, Cara '11 will also be a junior. In addition to cross country, Kevin and Cara will also compete for Harvard skiing in the winter.

Harvard's 20 newcomers join the 42 current team members (21 men/women) of the cross country squad.  Last year, the Crimson men finished one place behind the previous year's best finish in six years at the Heptagonal Championships, but had two runners in the top eight for the first time since 2001. At the regional meet, the Crimson rallied to beat one of the teams that finished ahead of them at the conference championship and finished in the top 8 for the fourth year in a row. The Harvard women equaled its best finish at the Heptagonal Championships since 1999 and had its best finish at the ECAC Championship since the early 1980s.

Men's Roster
Joseph Brancale/Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Technical High School
Two-time all-state honoree ... Five-time Staten Island Advance All-Star ... New York City Heisman Award winner ... Personal best of 9:34.99 for 3,200 meters.

Ranvir Dhillon/Fremont, Calif./Washington High School
Three-time all-league recipient in cross country ... Captain of cross country and track teams as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Phil Galebach/Medford, Mass./Medford
Placed first as a senior, third as a junior and seventh as a sophomore at state meet ... Competed at the All-State Cross Country Meet as a sophomore, junior and senior ... Placed seventh at the Northeast Cross Country Championships ... Finished 32nd at the Footlocker National Cross Country Meet ... Personal best of 9:25.89 for 3,200 meters.

Jeremy Gilmour/Stockport, England/Manchester Grammar
Represented England at the Schools International track and cross country championships as a sophomore and in triathlon at the European and World Championships as a junior ... Competed at the Youth Olympic Festival and European Duathlon Championships as a senior ... Personal bests of 3:52.61 for 1,500 meters and 8:37.50 for 3,000 meters.

Zach Herring/Montclair, N.J./Montclair
Personal best of 1:26.20 for 600 meters.

Jeff Homer/Calgary, Alberta/Western Canada
Won a silver medal at the 2008 Canadian Junior Track and Field National Championships and a bronze medal at the 2007 Canadian Youth Track and Field Nationals ... Track and field captain as a senior ... Two-time cross country and three-time track and field MVP ... Personal bests of 1:53.50 for 800 meters and 49.71 for 400 meters.

Jakob Lindaas/Moorehead, Minn./Moorhead
Placed 18th at the Minnesota State cross country meet and 12th at the Nike Heartland Regional cross country meet as a senior ...Earned all-state honors in final season ... Personal best of 9:37 for 3,200 meters.

Weishen Mead/San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco University High School
Two-time first-team all-league honoree in cross country ... Earned second-team all-league honors in tennis ... Personal best of 1:55.36 for 800 meters.

Sean Pohorence/Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills
Two-time conference, county and state sectional champion ... Finished 16th at the Nike Cross Country Nationals as a senior ... Earned All-America honors in the distance medley relay and two mile indoors and the distance medley relay outdoors  ... Holds five course records in cross country ... Personal bests of 9:08.55 for 3,200 meters and 1:53.5 (split) for 800 meters.

Stewart Richardson/St. Paul, Minn./The Blake School
Eight-time all-conference honoree in cross country and track and field ... Earned all-conference honors in nordic skiing and all-state honors in fencing ... Named all-state as a senior in cross country and track and field ... Finished second at state meet in the 3,200 meters and holds the school record in that event ... Personal best of 9:39 for 3,200 meters.

Kevin Sprague/Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury

Jared Squires/Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollows
Seven-time all-league, four-time all-division, four-time all-county, three-time all-state and two-time all-country academic honoree ... Ran a leg of the 4x800 meter relay team that finished third at the 101st Millrose Games, placed second at the New York State Indoor Championships and third at the National Scholastic Indoor Championship as a senior ... Personal best of 1:27 for 600 meters and 1:56 (split) for 800 meters. 

Women's Roster
Stephanie Barnett/San Jose, Calif./Leland
Two-time All-Nor Cal first team and section best and All-Nor Cal second team selection ... Named Nor Cal All-Freshman honorable mention ... Two-time San Jose Mercury News Cross Country Runner of the Year ... Team won four Blossom Valley Athletic League titles, three CCS titles and finished 15th over better at the CA State Division three times ... Personal best of 11:03.20 for 3,200 meters.

Carlyle Davis/Los Angeles, Calif./Marlborough
Three-time all-league selection in track and field ... Team won CIF SS and Division 4 state titles in 2006 ... Sunshine League and CIF SS Division 4 champion in the 400 and 800 meters ... Personal bests of 54.8 (split) and 55.87 for 400 meters, 2:07.82 for 800 meters and 5:02 for 1,600 meters.

Roey Hines/Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central
Three-time all-conference, two time all-section and all-regional and all-state selection ... Placed 23rd at state meet ... Named team MVP twice ... Received Spirit Award twice ... Team won state title in 2006 and finished second in 2008 ... Personal best of 5:06.69 for 1,600 meters.

Sarah Hopkinson/Cheltenham, England/The Cheltenham Ladies
Placed sixth in the 2,000 meter steeplechase at the 2007 World Youth Championships and in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the 2007 Great Britain Senior Championships and World Trials ... Won the 1,500 meters at the World Schools and English Schools championships in 2006 ... Ranked fourth in the European rankings for U20 in the steeplechase ... Personal bests of 2:07.55 for 800 meters, 4:20.80 for 1,500 meters, 9:38.75 for 3,000 meters and 10:20.64 for 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Ellie Hylton/Lincoln, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury
Two-time Nike Cross Country National qualifier as a junior and senior .... Earned Nike All-American honors for taking fourth at the Nike Indoor Nationals and sixth at Nike Outdoor Nationals in the 4X800 meter relay as a senior .... Four-time Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic Athlete ... Personal bests of 2:52.37 for 1,000 meters and 5:05.72 for 1,600 meters.

Briana Jackucewicz/Farmingdale, N.J./Colts Neck
Four-time all county selection ... Earned all-state honors in 2005 ... State champion in 2005 and three-time state sectionals champion ... Holds New Jersey Freshman Class Holmdel Park Record ... Set the high school nation 5,000 meter indoor record in seventh grade ... State champion in the 3,200 meters as a senior ... Personal bests of 10:33.37 for two miles and 5:01.09 for 1,600 meters.

Morgan Kelly/San Francisco, Calif./Phillips Exeter Academy (N.H.)
Earned All-New England honors for second place finish in Division I New England Prep School championships ... Earned four New England Preparatory School Track Association awards for performances in 300 meter hurdles, 800 meters and 4x400 relay.

Sammy Silva/La Mesa, Calif./Academy of Our Lady of Peace
Three-time Western League champion in cross country .... Two-time CIF Division 3 Section champion, CIF Division 3 state champion as a senior and runner-up as a junior ... Three-time league champion and state champion in the 1,600 meters ... Personal bests of 4:47.67 for the 1,600 meters, 2:13.79 for 800 meters and 10:38.23 for 2,300 meters.

Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications.