Brian Hill helped the men to a 15-5 win and Harvard/Yale to a 32-7 overall victory (Harvard Athletic Communications).
CAMBRIDGE, U.K. – In the culminating competition of its trip to Europe, the Harvard track and field team helped secure 22 event victories as it teamed with Yale to defeat Oxford/Cambridge, 32-7, Tuesday afternoon at the Wilberforce Road Track. The Harvard/Yale men earned a 15-5 victory while the women also won in dominating fashion, posting a 17-2 final score.
The victory marks the fourth-straight victory for the Harvard/Yale squad as Oxford/Cambridge last won the competition in 2003 by a score of 24-14 (10-10 men, 14-4 women). It also marks the men's largest margin of victory, using the scoring format used in Tuesday's meet, since 1977, when Harvard/Yale posted a 14-3 win. With a 15-point advantage, the women posted the largest margin of victory in the history of the competition.
Leading the way for the Harvard was a trio of individual multi-event winners. Daniel Chenoweth proved to be the distance master, taking the 5,000 in 14:22.06 and following with a win in the 10,000 in 31:00.05. Nico Weiler was the other Harvard male competitor with multiple victories, winning the long jump with a mark of 6.77 meters (22'2.5") and taking the pole vault with a 4.51-meter (14'9.5") mark. Shannon Watt sparked the women's throwers with a pair of event wins, capturing the discus in 43.25 (141'11") and the shot put in 13.17 (43'2.5").
Brian Hill fronted a group of men's individual event winners, as he took the 800 in 1:50.33. Robert Paris earned a win in the 400 hurdles with a time of 55.3 and Eric Clayman (hammer, 58.46 (191'9.5")) and Dustin Brode (shot put, 16.35 (53'8")) took home victories in the throws. Brian Paison and John Dingus each ran legs of the winning 4x400 relay squad to wrap up the men's victories.
Christina Twicken and Meisha Brooks took care of business in the sprints, with Twicken winning the 200 in 25.18 and Brooks posting a time of 56.56 in the 400 for the win. Claire Richardson posted a time of 16:34.59 to win the 5,000 and Olivia Abbate capped the women's individual running events with a win in the 100 hurdles in 15.58.
Hannah Mayer set a new meet record in the javelin, recording a distance of 44.12 (144'9") to win the event. Olivia Weeks earned a win in the long jump for Harvard with a mark of 5.83 (19'1.5") and Rachael Apfel followed with a victory in the triple jump with a leap of 11.59 (38'). Mary Hirst's clearance of 1.66 (5'5.5") was good for a win in the high jump and Adabelle Ekechukwu posted a mark of 51.89 (170'3") in the hammer for a victory.
The Harvard women played a big role in helping the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams capture victories. Twicken, Weeks and Chelsea Celistan ran on the 4x100 squad while Twicken and Shannon Conway helped the 4x400 squad to a win.
