It wasn't Heps and it wasn't even an Ivy League match. It was a victory over Boston College.
But it kicks off a season of excitement and hope for the Harvard men's and women's track teams, which both left the Gordon Indoor Track with a victory in hand over Boston College.
The men's team maintained its hegemony over the Eagles, exiting the building with a 79-55 roast. The Crimson's 64-53 triumph of B.C.'s women's team was a little less comfortable.
The men's team built an early lead, primarily on the strength of many second place finishes. Although Harvard won three out of the first five events, B.C. took five out of the first nine. The Crimson, however, took second place in the first seven matches and third place twice.
It all added up to a 24-11 lead after four events and a 51-32 lead after 10.
"We have never lost an indoor meet to B.C.," said junior Killian Longeran, who was one of six Harvard first-place finishers, in the 3,000-meter. "That was our main goal--that we didn't lose. That's what motivated most of us--that we've never lost."
The women's teams were more evenly matched. The scoreboard read Harvard 53, B.C. 45 after the Eagles tallied eight points in the 3,000-meter to whittle the Crimson lead to nine points with three events remaining. Harvard bounced back quickly, taking first in the next two events.
Senior Stacy Barber scored a crucial five points for the Crimson with a top-of-the-heap leap of 5'6" in the high jump, while the one-mile relay team of Heather Hanson, Allison Goldkamp, Afia Asamoah and Amanda Williams notched the gold. Throw in Jen Braga's third-place, 5'2" finish in the high jump and you have 11 Harvard points to B.C.'s three in consecutive events.
"B.C. always has a strong team," said senior co-captain Williams, who also crossed the wire first (57.6 seconds) in the 400-meter. "For the last four years, it's been a close race. But I was definitely confident. I'm glad that we ended up winning."
First-place finishers for the Harvard men included junior Steve Brannon in the pole vault, freshman Alex Williamson in the high jump, junior Tommy Mike in the 500, senior Darin Shearer in the mile, senior Ben Bowen in the 800 and Longeran in the 3,000.
First-place finishers for the Harvard women included junior Karen Goetze in the mile, junior Ailey Penningroth in the 20-pound throw, sophomore Margaret Angell in the 800, Hanson in the 200, Williams in the 400 and Barber in the high jump
There were other highlights. Goetze's 4:53.1 in the mile was a personal record, as was Angell's fourth-place, 5-02.8 close.
Harvard swept the 3,000 meter, and Matt Bundle's and Ryan Trombly's second and third-place finishes in that event were both personal bests.
Senior Natalee Campbell scored points in five events.
"This team is the best team I have competed on in four years," Williams said. "We have everything that it takes to win the league championships at Heps."
"For the runners and sprinters it was an important meet," Longeran said. "They have been training since October. It's a good pointer to see where they are in their training."
Read more in Sports
ON DECK
