Junior Courtney Smith is ranked No. 11 in the nation in the 2016 Saucony Flo50 Women's Individual XC Rankings (Gil Talbot)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard men's and women's cross country teams will compete for a league title this weekend at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, hosted by Princeton University at West Windsor Fields on Saturday, Oct. 29. The women's 6K will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by the men's 8K, which will begin at noon.
About the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships
The Ivy League Heptagonal Championships began in 1939, and has been held every year since the inaugural event with the exception of 1944. The women's run began in 1977, which was claimed by Harvard. The Crimson has captured 10 titles on the men's side and six in the women's competition.
Last year the Harvard men's team placed seventh, led by 24th place finish from Thomas Purnell. The women's team also placed seventh, led by Courtney Smith, who finished third.
The Last Time Out
On Oct 14, led by junior Courtney Smith's sixth place finish, the Harvard women's team finished 15th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Harvard recorded 357 points, with Smith, freshman Lisa Tertsch (57th) and freshman Erin Dietz (82nd) all placing in the top-100 at an event that featured 17 of the top 30 in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll. Smith was Harvard's top finisher for the third time in three races this season. She recorded her best finish in three years at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in the women's championship 6k race, crossing the finish line in 20:09.2. Tertsch continued her impressive debut for Harvard, finishing in 21:01.8 in her second event of the fall. Dietz completed the course in 21:14.9.
The Harvard men last competed on Oct. 15 at both the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., and the Princeton Invitational. At Pre-Nationals, competing against many of the top Division I teams in the nation in the Men's 8K Blue race, senior Brandon Price finished the 8K course in 24:44.8. Sophomore Kieran Tuntivate finished in 138th, crossing the finish line in 25:31.1 with freshman Will Battershill not far behind in 146th (25:36.8).
At the Princeton Invite, Harvard finished 18th overall in the event, with sophomore Collin Price leading the way for the Crimson, finishing 67th overall in 25:17.4, his best 8K time at Harvard. Sophomore Nick Linder finished in 82nd with a time of 25:31.0, which was also his fastest collegiate 8K finish. Also scoring for Harvard were sophomore Robert Hope (107th, 15:59.4), freshman Zach Manickas-Hill (110th, 26:07.6) and freshman Charlie Davis (26:41.7).
In The Rankings
Harvard moved up to No. 26 in the National Coaches Poll released on Oct. 17 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Crimson women are No. 3 in the USTFCCCA Northeast Region rankings. Harvard is ranked No. 22 in the Saucony Flo50 team rankings, and Courtney Smith is ranked No. 11 in the nation in the Saucony Flo50 individual rankings.
Smith, Tertsch Honored
Courtney Smith and Lisa Tertsch were honored with HepsTrack.com weekly awards on Oct. 16. Smith earned women's runner of the week after her sixth place showing at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and Tertsch earned women's rookie of the week accolades after her 57th place finish in the same event.
Head-To-Head
Thus far in 2016, Harvard has faced off against six Ivy men's programs while the women have competed against six Ancient Eight foes as well. The Harvard women's team is 6-3 against Ivy competition this season.
|
Opponent
|
Women's Record
|
|
|
vs. Brown
vs. Columbia
vs. Cornell
vs. Dartmouth
vs. Penn
vs. Princeton
vs. Yale
|
1-0
1-0
0-0
1-0
0-1
2-0
1-2
|
|
A Look at the Field
Three Ivy League teams have earned national rankings – Yale (22), Penn (24) and Harvard (26) women – while Penn's men's squad and the Cornell and Brown women's teams are receiving votes in the USTFCCCA national poll. All programs are ranked in the top-15 of their respective regional rankings. Princeton is the reigning champion on the women's side, while Columbia won the team championship on the men's side in 2015.
A Year Ago
The Harvard women's team finished sixth at the NCAA Regionals, led by Courtney Smith's fifth place showing, helping her qualify for the NCAA Championships. Smith finished 60th in the field of 254 runners, narrowly missing All-America recognition with her time of 20:36.6. The Crimson placed seventh at the 2015 Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, led by Smith's third place finish. The women's team won the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet, the programs' first victory in the event since 1995, as Smith and senior Paige Kouba finished second and third respectively to lead the Crimson.
Season Preview: Harvard
The women's team enters the 2016 season ranked No. 13 in the Saucony Flo50 XC countdown and No. 25 in the USTFCCCA preseason coaches' poll, the second time in program history the Crimson have been ranked in the coaches' poll. Harvard is led by junior Courtney Smith, who qualified for the NCAA championships last fall. Smith was an indoor All-American during the track season, and qualified for the USATF Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters after running 32:08.32 at the Stanford Invitational – a top-10 mark in NCAA history. Harvard also returns junior Elianna Shwayder, who was consistently a top-three finisher for the Crimson. On the men's side, the Crimson began the season ranked in the USTFCCCA Northeast regional preseason poll. Harvard senior Brandon Price is Harvard's leading returner. Price was Harvard's top finisher last season at Coast to Coast Battle of Beantown.
At the Helm
Jason Saretsky is in his 11th season as the William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country, and during his tenure the Crimson has landed 29 student-athletes on All-America teams. A five time Women's USTFCCCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year winner, Saretsky has mentored 40 combined NCAA qualifiers at Harvard.
What's Next?
Harvard is off next weekend before returning to action on Nov. 11 at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship, held at Van Cortlandt Park in New York.
