“We didn’t really come together as a team,” freshman Kevin Lyons said.

If Harvard hopes to beat some of its Ivy League rivals at Heptagonals, other runners will have to step up.

“I expect that I’ll be able to beat some of those guys at Heps,” Bienvenu said referring to the second runners for rival Ivy League teams. “I’m shooting for top eight, an all-Ivy performance. It will be good for the team.”

Women

The Harvard women’s cross country team, on the other hand, had slightly more success. Like the men, the Crimson rested its best runners last week in preparation for this meet, but the Harvard women were plagued by injuries as well.

The Crimson totaled 625 points for the meet, good enough for a 26th.

But the team left Iowa feeling it could have placed better.

The main victims to injuries were senior leaders Beverly Whelan and captain Mairead O’Callaghan, who struggled through the six-kilometer race. O’Callaghan was sick, while Whelan reaggravated an ankle sprain and could not finish.

Junior Kimberly Smith (22:52.6), too, has been training through pain these last few weeks.

Sophomore Laura Maludzinski has taken up the lead while the others are injured. She led the team by placing 69th with a time of 21:53.1.

Considering the size of the field and the quality of the competitors, including perennial powerhouses Stanford and Colorado, Maludzinski’s effort was quite impressive.

Stanford runners Alicia Craig and Sara Bei finished first and second, respectively, leading their team to victory at Pre-Nationals.

Following Maludzinski’s lead, five other Crimson runners finished within the top two hundred. O’Callaghan led this bunch by placing 117th with a time of 22:28.4.

Now the runners must put this meet behind them in order to focus on Heptagonals, arguably the climax of the cross country season.

And it may come down to a matter of how their bodies are able to heal from the injuries.

“As far as Heps goals, that depends on how hard I am able to train over the next couple of weeks,” Smith said.