For someone who did not run scholastically until 11th grade, senior Ian Carswell has been a quick study.

Among his accomplishments are eight consecutive Ivy League Championship victories, the school record in the 3,000 and a third-place finish in the same event at the NCAAs in March. He was also the first collegiate athlete to finish the 3,000 at this year's Millrose Games, beating out the 1996 NCAA champion.

Growing up in Foxboro, Ontario, however, Carswell was more interested in playing left wing in hockey than running track. Carswell did not run scholastically until his school, Lakefield College, added a track and field team when he was a junior.

About one year later, Carswell was selected to represent his nation at the World Cross-Country Championships in Spain.

"I've always wanted to compete for my country and travel internationally," Carswell says. "That ignited a fire inside me that hasn't really gone away."

When Carswell first arrived at Harvard four years ago, the pressures of adjusting to freshman life made his first cross-country season a stressful one.

"The intensity level is a little higher in the U.S. than in Canada," Carswell says. "I never felt as comfortable and confident on a cross-country course as I did on a track."

He still managed to finish 17th at Heptagonals (Heps) but missed the indoor track season due to an injury.

It was in the outdoor track season, though, where Carswell made his first strides at Harvard. He finished second in the 5,000 at Heps and garnered Second Team All-Ivy honors.

This success carried over into Carswell's sophomore year.

On Nov. 21, 1994, Carswell became the first Harvard runner to compete at the NCAAs since Paul Gompers '86-'87. He placed 35th out of 185 runners at the NCAA Division

Championships at Fayetteville, Arkansas. His time of 31:15.3 led all District I competitors and ranked fourth among all IC4A competitors.

Carswell made another big break-through in the indoor season, when he ran a school-record 8:01.11 at the Terrier Classic on Jan. 27. The time, 16 seconds shorter than his previous best, automatically qualified him for the NCAAs in the 3,000 meter.

"That race really signified a big jump in terms of the level that I could compete at," Carswell says. "It established my position as one of the country's better college runners."

On March 11 Carswell earned All-American status after a seventh-place finish at the NCAA's in the 3,000. His time of 8:08.64 was just two seconds behind winner Jason Bunston's 8:06.81.

Carswell continued to shine in the outdoor season, finishing second in the 5,000 at Heps, and 10th in the same event at the NCAA Championships.