NEW YORK, N.Y. - Competing down at the armory track in New York City, the Harvard men's and women's track and field teams had a successful first day at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships on Saturday, Feb. 26. In addition to a 1-2 finish in the men's 3k, the Crimson came out on top with the fastest qualifiers in four events, claiming the top spots in the finals for the: Men's 500m and 3000m, as well as the Women's 60m, 200m and Mile. Additionally, Harvard put up impressive results in: Men's Weight Throw, Long Jump, 200m, 400m and 800m, as well as in Women's Pole Vault, 500m, Long Jump and Weight Throw . Both teams finished day one near the top of the standings, with the women's team placing third and the men's team second.
            Starting out with field events, the Crimson put up an impressive set of results. On the men's side, first-year Kenneth Ikeji finished second in the weight throw, tallying a mark of 19.14m (62'9.5"), while junior Kyle Murphy put up a second place mark of 7.39m (24'3.0") in the long jump. Moving over to the women, first-year Izzy Goudros placed third in long jump with a mark of 5.92m (19'5.25"), and first-year Anastasia Retsa posted a second place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 4.00m (13'1.5"). 
            Seeing even more success on the track, the Crimson posted five top performances, taking the first qualifying sports in the women's 60m, 200m and mile, as well as in the men's 500m and notching a victory in the men's 3000m. Beginning with the women's squad, junior Tina Martin posted another set of terrific performances, finishing as the top qualifier in both the 60m and 200m with times of 7.38 seconds and 23.67 seconds respectively. In the mile, the Crimson qualified with the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th best times, with senior Judy Pendergast's time of 4:52.73 claiming top spot for the Crimson. Rounding out the day for the women, Victoria Bossong qualified with the second fastest time in the 500m, tallying a 1:14.27. 
            Moving over to the men's team, first-year Peter Diebold qualified with the fastest time in the 500m, claiming first in his heat with a time of 1:03.39. In the 3000m, Harvard went 1-2, with sophomore Acer Iverson taking the victory for the Crimson with a time of 8:00.09. Breaking the Harvard school record for the second time this year in the 200m, first-year Lance Ward won his heat and had the second fastest qualifying time, setting a new mark of excellence with his time of 21.23. Closing out the day with the 800m, junior Will Crisp qualified for the finals with the second fastest time in the prelims, putting up a time of 1:52.91.
            In total, the men had 12 qualifiers for tomorrow's finals, 2nd most in the meet, while the Crimson women lead the way with 13. 
            The Crimson will continue competition tomorrow at the second day of the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. Events will begin at 11:00 a.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Record Setting performances 

• With his time of 21.23 seconds, Lance Ward broke the Harvard school record in the 200m.

 
Harvard Highlights

• This is the second time this year that Lance Ward has broken the Harvard school record in the men's 200m. 
• This is the second straight Indoor Heps that Harvard has gone 1-2 in the men's 3,000m. Back in 2020, Olympian Kieran Tuntivate '19-20 and Will Battershill '20 also finished 1st and 2nd in the event.