The Harvard track and field team returned to action this weekend, competing in a pair of invitationals on Saturday.

The Crimson sent its throwing corps down south to compete in the Ole Miss Invitational, while the runners stayed in New England to participate in the George Davis Invitational at UMass Lowell.

“That’s the nature of track and field,” Harvard coach Jason Saretsky said. “You’ve got different parts moving in different directions. We pick out different opportunities for our student-athletes to do what they need to do.”

The Crimson’s runners and throwers turned in a number of strong performances, with several event-winning finishes and a few IC4A-qualifying marks.

OLE MISS INVITATIONAL

Harvard’s men’s and women’s throwing squads saw action this weekend in Oxford, Miss. Saretsky was pleased with the performance of his athletes.

“They did a great job,” Saretsky said. “This was a good opportunity to go out of region for warmer weather and some really high-level competition that we don’t usually see. Once again, we had big marks from our throwers. They’ve been the backbone of our team.”

Sophomore Eric Brucker finished third in the shot put with a IC4A-qualifying hurl of 15.86 meters. Freshman Dustin Brode matched his teammate in the event, throwing an identical mark.

But Brucker’s day was not finished when he punched his ticket to the national championship meet in one event.

The sophomore earned fifth place in the discus, with a qualifying throw of 48.27 meters.

What was perhaps the best showing of the weekend for the Crimson came from senior Eric Clayman in the hammer throw.

The senior’s mark of 58.95 meters earned him second in the event, and the attention of his coach.

“[Clayman’s performance] was big,” Saretsky said. “That’s got to be top 25 in the East region.”

Another standout performance came from junior thrower Nick Farnsworth.

Farnsworth’s throw of 63.04 meters gave him a victory in the javelin by almost four meters. His mark on Saturday was 1.5 meters short of his personal record, which stands as the fifth-best javelin throw in school history.