“You feel more accountable about your performances,” he said of Heps. “You want to do well not only for yourself but for the team.”

The women’s squad certainly felt this team spirit as it pushed for its own fourth-place finish, rallying despite significant injuries.

Harvard amassed 61 points on the weekend, due in large part to good performances in races and multi events.

“We didn’t enter women in a couple events due to injury...but those who did compete competed well and rose to the challenge,” women’s co-captain Thea Lee said. “We had one person on the podium for every event [we participated in].”

Lee followed just behind rookie Carlyle Davis as the two runners finished third and fourth in the 800-meter race, adding 10 points to the team score. Freshmen Olivia Weeks and Ashtynn Baltimore also provided a boost for the Crimson, taking second in the triple jump and long jump, respectively, with efforts of 12.10 and 5.99 meters.

“I thought every athlete that competed held her own,” Lee said. “At the end of the day, really the whole team did great.”

Saretsky also noted the standout effort of a pair of pentathletes, sophomores Christine Reed and Nicole Sliva. The Harvard women added another 10 points with third- and fourth-place finishes, logging a number of personal bests through the five events.

“The event went great,” Saretsky said. “[Reed and Sliva] are just gamers. They have a great, great competitive attitude and really got after it.”

So too, it seemed, did the entire Crimson team. Although neither squad could keep pace with Ivy powerhouse Princeton, whose men’s and women’s teams swept the championships with 181 and 125 points, respectively, Harvard will look to build on its momentum as various athletes prepare for individual competition at ECACs and IC4As next weekend.

“Both [the men’s and women’s] teams came on really strong this season,” Sarestky said. “They competed best when it mattered the most.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.