West Windsor Fields will host the 2014 Ivy League Heptagonal Championships (Brian Panoff).
HEPS CENTRAL
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard cross country embarks on the championship portion of its 2014 schedule this Saturday, visiting West Windsor Fields in Princeton, New Jersey for the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. The Crimson men enter the conference title meet ranked fifth in the most recent USTFCCCA Northeast Regional poll, while then women come in 10th.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Women's Race: 11 a.m. (6K)
Men's Race: Noon (8K)
Awards Ceremony: 1 p.m.
SEASON REWIND
Harvard has competed in five meets this fall, including most recently at the Princeton Invite held at West Windsor Fields. In a loaded field, the Crimson women captured 7th out of 35 squads, for its top performance of the season. Harvard's women have also put together strong outings at the Battle of Beantown (8th of 21) and the Paul Short Invitational (13th of 38).
The Harvard men's team had its best performance on its home course at the Battle of Beantown, taking sixth out of the 19-team field. Two weeks ago, the Crimson split the team up, with half of the squad finishing 26th at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, while the remainder of the team took 17th at the Princeton Invite.
A LOOK BACK
The 2013 Heptagonal Championships proved special for the Crimson as Maksim Korolev '14 won the men's individual title, leading his team to a fourth-place finish. Current junior Thomas Purnell missed finishing in the top-10 last year by 1.1 seconds to claim 11th, while now-senior Will Geiken crossed the line in 28th.
On the women's side, four Crimson runners finished in the top-20, pacing Harvard to a third-place showing. Current seniors Viviana Hanley and Molly Renfer finished in eighth and 17th, respectively, while sophomore Sarah Gillespie completed the race in 23rd.
FOLLOW ALONG
The Ivy League will be running a live blog, as well as using social media to provide fans multiple avenues to follow the action. Use the link at the top of the page or click HERE to access the live blog during the event and also follow @Ivy_Athletics on Twitter and @ivyleaguesports on Instagram to get real-time updates and photos.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
The women's field features two teams ranked in the October 20 USTFCCCA national poll, as Princeton enters the weekend slotted 25th with Dartmouth on its heels in 26th. The Tigers are the fourth-ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic region, while the Big Green is second in the Northeast.
For the men, no team is ranked in the national poll, but Princeton received 12 votes. The Tigers are third in their region, while Penn checks in at sixth in the Mid-Atlantic. In the Northeast, Dartmouth edges Harvard by one spot in fourth with Columbia, Cornell and Yale trailing the Crimson in successive order.
UP NEXT
After a two-week break from competition, the Crimson will travel to Van Cortland Park in Bronx, New York for the NCAA Regional Championships on November 14.
