Photo of Chas Gillespie courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications.

Directions to Franklin Park

Story Line
The Harvard men's and women's cross country teams host Yale at Franklin Park on Oct. 2. Friday's race is the first for the Crimson since their season opener at the Iona Meet of Champions Sept. 19. Both Harvard teams are looking to extend its win streak over its rival which now stands at two straight wins.

The women will have to wait until 1:30 p.m. to race, as it's the men who get the nod to start things off at 1 p.m.

The Harvard athletic department would like to welcome alumni and their families to Harvard for this weekend's activities.

Last Time Out
The Crimson women opened the 2009 campaign with a spectacular showing at the Iona Meet of Champions. Harvard beat Ivy rivals Penn and Yale and surpassed No. 15 Wisconsin, to win the Iona Meet of Champions. Freshman Sammy Silva won the race, finishing 18 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. To help secure the team victory, sophomores Jeanne Mack, Kailyn Kuzmuk and Nicole Cochran finished third, fifth and sixth, for the Crimson.

The Crimson men, led by sophomore Dan Stiles placed 14th overall at the Meet of Champions.

More About Harvard
Junior Daniel Chenoweth, senior Chas Gillespie and juniors Jamie Olson and Claire Richardson, all returning All-Ivy League selections, should make their season debuts today against the Bulldogs

Scouting the Bulldogs
The Yale men and women's teams pulled double-duty in their last outing Sept 19. Several Bulldogs competed at the Iona Meet of Champions, while other members of the squad raced in the Quinnipiac Invitational. The women finished sixth out of 21 teams at Iona and fourth out of 14 at Quinnipiac. The men placed fourth in both locations out of 21 and 11 teams, respectively.

The top female finishers for Yale were freshmen Elizabeth Marvin, placing 27th overall at Iona. Sophomore Conor Dooney was the top male runner at the Meet of Champions while finishing 11th overall.

2008 Race Recap
Last year in New Haven, the twosome of Daniel Chenoweth and Chas Gillespie crossed the finish line first and second to lead the Crimson to a 21-36 win over the Bulldogs

On the women's side, Claire Richardson and Jamie Olson were seventh and eighth overall in the race, and finished first and second in the meet scored between Harvard and Yale. The Crimson had three more runners in the top 20 overall to seal a 20-36 victory against Yale.

Historically Speaking
The first Harvard-Yale men's cross country meet took place in 1907. Today's race is the 102nd anniversary of the annual Harvard-Yale match up and the 97th meeting between the two teams. Harvard leads the series with 58 wins to Yale's 38.

The first HY women's race took place in 1976, making today's race the 34th meeting. Harvard holds a 19-14 advantage in the series.

This will be the first time since 1976 that Princeton will not be competing in the women's race.

The Hardware
The winner of the men's dual will receive the Main Memorial Trophy, given in memory of Ensign Malcolm Gardner Main, captain of the 1941 Yale cross country team who was killed in action on Nov. 13, 1942, in the Battle of the Solomon Islands. The winner of the women's meet will receive the Cheever Memorial Trophy, given in fond memory of Olivia Thorndike Cheever (Radcliffe '43 '49) by her brother, John.

Up Next
The Harvard men and women will travel to two different locations Oct. 17. The Crimson will race at the Pre-National meet and the 43rd annual Albany Invitational.