CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard cross country begins a highly anticipated 2026 season down south in Attleboro, Massachusetts on Friday, Sept. 4 at the Friar Invitational.

Racing starts at 4:30 p.m. with the women's 4k race, while the men's 6k race begins at 5:15 p.m. at the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course at Highland Park, which will also serve as the host for the 2026 Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships in October.

WHAT TO KNOW

• Harvard returns to the trail after successful indoor and outdoor track & field campaigns, as the men's team is looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships for a seventh consecutive season while the women's team is looking to earn a bid for the first time since 2024.
• Seniors Charlie Ortmans and Sam Burgess will lead the men's team as team captains, while senior Kaiya Brooks will serve as the team captain for the women's team this season.
• Four All-Ivy League selections return from last season's cross country squad.
• On the men's side, First-year Tam Gavenas garnered All-Ivy League First Team selection after a second-place finish at Van Cortlandt Park, as Ortmans and Burgess also took All-Ivy League First Team honors.
• A five-time All-American on the track in the women's 800m, senior Sophia Gorriaran earned All-Ivy League First Team honors with a sixth-place finish.
• In the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Preseason Northeast Regional Rankings, the men's team owns the No. 2 spot, while the women's team opens the season at No. 7 in the northeast.
• In the USTFCCCA National Preseason as the Crimson's men's team at No. 19, making Harvard the highest ranked team in the Ivy League, while the Stride Report ranked the men's team at No. 20 in its Preseason Division I Rankings.
• Jason Saretsky, The William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country, is in 21^st season at the helm of the Harvard track & field and cross country. Joining the Crimson ahead of the 2017 season, Associate Head Coach - Women's and Men's Distance/Middle-Distance Alex Gibby is in his ninth season with Harvard track & field and cross country.

UP NEXT

Harvard returns to the trail with two meets on Saturday, Sept. 19, competing at the Indiana State Invite and the Dartmouth Invite.

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