The rookie would close the gap between him and first place finisher Bradley Paternostro of Princeton in the last 100 meters as the crowd willed the two on, but would fall just short of overtaking him at the line, finishing a mere 0.11 seconds behind the Princeton athlete.

The distance honors continued as senior Connor Reck took second in the 1,000 meter run with a 2:30.13 finish, less than a second behind James Randon from Yale in another finish which came down to the wire.

Another runner-up finish would be attained in the 4 x 880 yard relay as senior Nephat Maratim, Arnada, Reck and senior Billy Looney would finish with a time of 7:40.75. Maritim would also take home a personal best in the mile with a time of 4:10.75.

Captain Jarvis Harris led the male sprinters with a third place finish in the 60 meter hurdles while freshman Ahmed Obed placed third in the 200 meter race.

While the team was able to have impressive performances throughout the weekend, Okwelogu believes that the team has the potential for an even better showing.

“We didn’t have the best showing as a team this past weekend,” Okwelogu said. “I just want everybody to do what I know they can do…I want to cheer on teammates and I know they can contribute.”

With the team not yet at full strength, there is reason to believe that the Crimson can improve greatly in the two weeks of preparation before hosting Heps on February 28th. A big part of this preparation will be the reaction the team has to HYP.

After being exposed to the level of talent that some of their Ivy League rivals have, the meet served as a wake-up call for Harvard and the response which the athletes give will go a long way in being able to claim the Ancient Eight title on both sides.

“This [was] definitely a good opportunity to see what happens if we’re not firing at full strength,” Saretsky said. “I know our student athletes are going to take this past weekend’s competitions and really focus on what we need to do to be in a better position come Heps.”