Eric Clayman is seeded No. 29 in the east in the hammer throw (Harvard Athletic Communications).
Complete List of NCAA East Preliminary Participants
The Particulars
After a weekend off from competition, the Harvard track and field team will send 11 student-athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary May 26-28 in Bloomington, Ind. The Crimson will be sending its largest contingent of competitors to the competition in program history, up from seven last season.
The Competitors
The following student-athletes will be competing for Harvard this weekend. The team members qualified for the competition by recording a mark that was within the top 48 in the region in each event. Listed below is the student-athlete, their event, their qualifying mark/time and their regional ranking:
Men:
Brian Hill (Senior, 800 meter run, 1:49.57, 21st)
Daniel Chenoweth (Senior, 5,000, 13:45.92, 5th)
Nico Weiler (Junior, pole vault, 5.16m, 18th)
Fedor Garin (Sophomore, pole vault, 5.01m, 44th)
Dustin Brode (Freshman, shot put, 17.65m, 20th)
Edward Brucker (Sophomore, discus, 51.73m, 44th)
Eric Clayman (Senior, hammer, 59.88, 29th)
Nick Farnsworth (Junior, javelin, 64.65, 31st)
Women:
Claire Richardson (Senior, 5,000, 16:22.15, 21st)
Kailyn Kuzmuk (Junior, 5,000, 16:39.87, 46th)
Hannah Mayer (Freshman, javelin, 46.88m, 15th)
Last Year's NCAA East Preliminary
The Crimson sent seven competitors to the meet that took place on the campus of North Carolina A&T last May. Carlyle Davis led the Harvard septet on Day 1 of the competition, qualifying for the quarterfinal in the 800 with a time of 2:07.37, good for 16th overall. Meghan Looney also ran the 800 and placed 41st in 2:12.34. Jack Brady '10 (shot put), Brian Hill (800) and Jessica Fronk (javelin) also competed for the Crimson on the first day of action.
Claire Richardson rallied the Crimson on Day two of the competition, turning in the third-fastest time in the 5,000 in school history, finishing in 16:31.83 and earning a berth in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. Chas Gillespie narrowly missed qualifying for nationals in the men's 5,000, placing 17th with a time of 14:16.68.
Last Time Out
Harvard sent a large group of athletes to the ECAC/IC4A Championships May 13-15 in Princeton, N.J. Shannon Watt kicked off the meet with a personal-best mark of 45.32 (148'08") in the discus, good for third in her flight and ninth overall in the competition. Brian Hill sparked the team on Day 2 in the 800, narrowly missing a personal-best time, winning his heat and qualifying third in the event with a 1:49.68 time. Fellow senior Eric Clayman hit a personal-best in the hammer, launching a toss of 59.88 (196'5") to take fifth and earn four team points for Harvard.
Olivia Weeks captured two team points with a seventh-place mark of 5.92 (19'5.25") in the long jump, upping her personal best by .05 meters. Sydnie Leroy wrapped up Day 2 with a tie for seventh in the pole vault, posting a mark of 3.51 (11'6.25"). Day 3 saw freshman Dustin Brode post a mark of 17.03 (55'10.5") in the shot put which was good for second place in the competition. Hill finished eighth in the 800 finals to capture a team point and Mary Hirst came within .01 meters of her personal best in the high jump, taking eighth in the event with a clearance of 1.69 (5'6.5").
Harvard All-Ivy Accolades
In their best finish at Heps in eight years, the men placed four student-athletes on the All-Ivy squads, the highest total since 2002. Junior Nico Weiler earned first-team distinctions with a winning mark of 5.16 meters (16'11") in the pole vault, and rookie Dustin Brode joined him on the first team with a win in the shot put, posting the second-best mark in school history at 17.65 meters (57'11"). Daniel Chenoweth ran a personal-best time in the 10,000 Saturday, taking second in 30:24.92, earning a spot on the All-Ivy second team. Fedor Garin was the final honoree, as a second-place mark of 4.80 (15'9") in the pole vault earned him second-team accolades.
The women boasted three All-Ivy performances, fronted by senior Claire Richardson, who ran a time of 9:49.36 in the 3,000 to win the race and first-team honors. Freshman Hannah Mayer also earned a spot on the first team with a victory in the javelin, posting a distance of 46.16 (151'5") in her first outdoor Heps competition. Heptathlete Nicole Sliva rounded out the women's selections with a second-team nod, earning 4,665 points to place second in the competition.
On the Docket
The 11 Harvard athletes will be vying for a berth in the NCAA Championships, which will take place June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa. The top 12 finishers in each event at NCAA East Preliminaries will advance on to the NCAA Championships.
