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Harvard’s track and field team traveled to Tucson, Ariz. over the weekend to compete in the annual Jim Click Shootout — garnering several school records, personal bests, and top-place finishes.

On the opening day, the Crimson started out strong with sophomore Marta Amani setting a new school record for women’s long jump with a jump of 6.31 meters and taking home first place.

For Amani, breaking a record formerly held by Olympic gold-medalist Gabby Thomas was “very emotional.”

“Breaking the record made me feel more part of the Harvard track and field team and of its history,” Amani said. “I feel honored to have broken her record.”

The Crimson continued to make history throughout the tournament, especially in the Men's 4x100-meter Relay Team — which was composed of freshmen Harlow Tong, LeRoy Horton, Jordan Coleman, and junior Jonas Clarke. The four set a school record with a time of 39.40 seconds and earned second place in the tournament.

Coleman shared he “had no idea it was going to be a school record, especially by such a large margin.”

“Seeing that time was such an amazing feeling for all of us,” he added.

While the history may have been a surprise, this success was a long-time coming according to Tong.

“We knew all season that we had a deep roster with plenty of talent to break the record so it was great to see the work we put in pay off,” Tong said.

Coleman noted that this time sets them up for regionals and future success and he has “a lot of hope that this season is only going to get better and end so much stronger than it has begun.”

The success was particularly notable for a squad with three freshmen, but Tong credited the coaching staff with making the group find its groove quickly.

“The coaching staff has been excellent in providing support and smoothing out the transition,” Tong said.

Amani and the relay group of Tong, Horton, Coleman, and Clarke also earned Ivy League Athlete of the Week honors with their performances.

In addition to this strong freshman performance, the veterans of the team continued to perform as well. In the women’s heptathlon, senior Izzy Goudros delivered dominant results, securing first place with top finishes in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200-meter events. Adding on to this strong senior showing, Victoria Bossong also earned first in the women’s 800 meters with a time of 2:01:96.

The Crimson also saw depth across all events, with senior Jeremiah Swett placing fourth in the Men’s Javelin Throw along with several other top-ten finishes on the women’s side in pole vault, long jump, discus, and shotput.

On the men’s side, sophomore Zane Wallace rounded out the Crimson’s strong field showing with a fifth-place finish in long jump.

After this resounding success on the first day, sophomore Simon Weiser started the closing day off strong with a fifth place finish in the Men’s 110m Hurdles. Senior Chloe Fair secured second place in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and Ivy League Champion Fabiola Belibi came sixth in the women’s 60-meter hurdles.

Other standout performances included Sophia Gorriaran earning her personal best in the women’s 400-meter, placing sixth overall. Making more history, senior Peter Fischer recorded his personal best in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, finished fourth in the tournament, and now ranks sixth in all-time school history.

In women’s high jump, Klara Barbic came third and Lilly Hodge placed fourth while the men’s 4x400-meter relay team closed off the tournament with a third place finish.

As the runners shared, the Harvard track team feels like a family and this connection is what enables them to achieve such success as they hope to continue to beat school records.

After this strong showing in the tournament, the Crimson will face off against Yale, Oxford and Cambridge next weekend in New Haven, Conn. at their famous HYOC dual meet. The Crimson are well-positioned for another standout performance.

—Staff writer Riya Sikand can be reached at riya.sikand@thecrimson.com.