Smith led Harvard with a third-place result at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships (Athletic Communications).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Running for the chance to compete at the NCAA Championships, Harvard men's and women's cross country will line up at the NCAA Northeast Regional on Friday, Nov. 13 at Franklin Park. The women's race will begin at noon, followed by the men's run at 1 p.m.
Scouting Harvard
Harvard has competed in four major meets this season, and Courtney Smith has consistently paced the Crimson with top results. Smith finished second at HYP, helping the team win the overall title, fifth at the Battle of Beantown, 16th at the Wisconsin Adidas Invite and third at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. Paige Kouba, Elianna Shwayder and Kathryn Gillespie have also finished near the top of the Harvard leaderboards in each event.
On the men's side, Thomas Purnell got the season off to a fast start with an individual triumph at HYP, as Harvard finished in second place, and he led the charge at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, taking 24th overall. Brandon Price, Chris Allen and Austin Gilbert have also paced the Crimson through five events.
About the NCAA Northeast Regional
Boston College hosts the 2015 NCAA Northeast Regional at Franklin Park, where student-athletes from 40 women's teams and 38 men's squads will compete. Harvard enters the competition ranked eighth on the men's side and ninth on the women's in the USTFCCCA regional rankings, and the teams finished sixth and 11th, respectively, last season. Syracuse enters the 2015 race ranked first on the men's side while Providence holds the top spot among women's teams.
Women's Cross Country Feature Video: The Long Run
Head-To-Head
After competing in four major competitions throughout the season, the Crimson women's team holds an 18-10 record against northeast teams, and the men's team is close behind with a 14-12 mark.
Scouting the Field
In the most recent national rankings on Nov. 3, four men's squads and three women's programs earned top-30 marks. Syracuse men's cross country enters the NCAA Northeast Regional ranked second in the country, while Iona, Columbia and Providence also made their way into the poll. In the women's ranks, Providence is fourth in the country followed by Syracuse and Yale.
Men's Cross Country Feature Video: The Tempo Run
Last Time Out
Pacing the Crimson for the fourth time this season, sophomore Courtney Smith led the way for Harvard women's cross country at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, crossing the stripe in third place. Smith was named to the All-Ivy League first team for her strong performance.
Smith posted a time of 20:55.9 in the 6K, as Harvard placed seventh overall. Sophomore Elianna Shwayder was the second Crimson finisher, winding up 25th in 22:06.9, and freshman Kathryn Gillespie came in as the third Harvard runner across the line, taking 27th in her first Ivy League Heptagonal Championships with a time of 22:08.9. Gillespie was the fifth-fastest freshman in the field.
Senior Thomas Purnell led the men's team with a 24th-place finish in the five-mile race, as Harvard took seventh place as a team. Purnell's run came to a close in 25:23.6, giving him the top time amongst Crimson runners for the second-straight season. Chris Allen was the second Harvard finisher in 25:31.2, and freshman Austin Gilbert's time of 25:39.0 was fourth-best among all first-year runners.
Related Link: Smith Leads Women's Cross Country with Third-Place Result at Ivy League Heptagonal Championships
Social Stream
Use the Social Stream on GoCrimson.com to stay connected with the Crimson on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube this year. The Social Stream brings the conversation from all four platforms into one convenient location, allowing fans of all Harvard Athletics teams to monitor the action in real time.
Follow @HarvardTrack_XC on Twitter for updates during the competition.
A Year Ago
Harvard men's cross country capped the year with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Regionals, led by Thomas Purnell's 17th-place result. The men's squad took seventh place at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships and sixth at the Coast to Coast Battle of Beantown. Purnell went on to compete at the NCAA Championships, completing the course in 32:08.
The women's team took fifth at the 2014 Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, led by Paige Kouba's 19th-place finish. The Crimson wound up 11th at the NCAA Regional Championships and eighth at the Coast to Coast Battle of Beantown. Molly Renfer '15 paced the women's squad at the NCAA Regionals with an 18th-place result.
Aye Aye, Captain
Harvard cross country announced senior Paige Kouba as captain of the women's team and seniors Chris Allen and Thomas Purnell as the men's captains back in December. All three are in their first year as captains.
At the Helm
Jason Saretsky is in his 10th season as the William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country, and during his tenure the Crimson has landed 10 student-athletes on All-America teams. The 2013-14 Women's USTFCCCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year, Saretsky has mentored 27 combined NCAA qualifiers at Harvard.
What's Next?
Depending on results from the NCAA Northeast Regional, either team or qualifying student-athletes could get the chance to compete in the NCAA or IC4A Championships on Saturday, Nov. 21.
