The Harvard track and field team was in action up and down the East Coast this weekend, as it competed in the Brown Springtime Invitational and the Penn Relays. The team continued its trend of personal-best performances in Providence, R.I., while a school record fell in Philadelphia.

“This weekend went well,” said Crimson coach Jason Saretsky. “Our student-athletes handled the conditions and competed hard.”

BROWN SPRINGTIME INVITATIONAL

Yesterday, the Harvard squad competed against a number of schools from the New England area at Brown’s Springtime Invitational.

Younger members of the Crimson squad blossomed at the meet, including freshman thrower Adabelle Ekechukwu. Ekechuwku posted her best mark of the season (50.62 meters) in the hammer throw, which was good for fifth place overall.

On the men’s side, freshman Dustin Brode won the shot put with a personal-best throw of his own. His distance of 17.01 meters earned him the event win.

“[Our throwers] had a very strong weekend,” Saretsky said. “They’re continuing to do a great job for us, and it’s exciting to see them continue to put up big marks week after week.”

Junior John Dingus also had a strong showing at Brown, as he ran the 400-meter dash in a blistering 48.11 seconds to win the event.

PENN RELAYS

The Harvard team also traveled to Philadelphia this weekend to compete in the oldest and largest track and field invitational in the country, the Penn Relays. Some of the team’s members were taken aback by the magnitude of the event.

“The atmosphere at the Penn Relays was incredible,” freshman Alaina Murphy said. “I’ve never performed in front of so many people in my life.”

But the big stage didn’t intimidate the Crimson, as its runners and throwers turned in a number of strong performances.

Harvard’s 4x800 meter relay team had the weekend’s biggest showing, breaking the school record in the event with a time of 7:29.41.

Junior Darcy Wilson was the lead-off runner for the Crimson, with classmate Brian Paison and sophomore Weishen Mead running the middle legs, and co-captain Brian Hill in the anchor position.

It was a strategic decision to have Wilson in the lead-off position in this race. During the first leg, he was able to avoid being crowded by other runners and handed off to Paison with Harvard in the front of the pack.