{shortcode-8ccc052cc0220d7cb47856ae179da6424cb1d098}

Harvard’s track and field team capped off an impressive week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this weekend, earning All-America First Team selections on both the men’s and women’s side.

Hungarian sophomore Ferenc Kovacs took home the bronze in the men’s 1,500-meter final with a time of 3:47.42 — becoming Harvard’s highest finisher in the event. Then, just two days later, he ran a 3:34.79 in the event at the Portland Track Festival to set a new Ivy League record and put him in a tie for the 14th fastest 1500-meter time in NCAA history. The two races added to Kovacs’ already impressive resume, after he broke the 1,500-meter school record during his freshman campaign.

Alongside Kovacs, seniors Chloe Fair and Izzy Goudros also received first team honors — an award given to the top eight finishers. Fair, who finished sixth in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, becomes just the fourth Harvard women’s hurdler to receive the honor. Goudros finished seventh in the heptathlon after a stellar long jump of 6.39 meters moved her up in the standings from 14th place and earned her a new school record.

The Crimson had an historic performance at the 2024 Outdoor Championships, sending a record 18 athletes and picking up a first-place finish from Maia Ramsden ’24. Still, even though the team did not match last season’s stand-out results, this season marked the third consecutive year the program sent more than 10 athletes to compete, with 15 making the trip.

Fair said that the energy of the meet was palpable — particularly due to its location at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

“Everyone there is actually genuinely fans of track and field,” Fair said. “You look up and the stadium’s almost full, and it’s just absolutely insane.”

Fair, who graduated in May and is now headed to the University of Georgia to continue her track career, said it was “tough” knowing that the meet was her last time competing for the Crimson.

“Being a part of Harvard track and field is the thing I am most proud of from my time at Harvard,” Fair said.

Senior Ben Rosa was one of Harvard’s six athletes to earn an All-America Second Team nod, as the Ivy League 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter champion finished tenth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA championships. Rosa is Harvard’s first All-American in the event since Crimson star Graham Blanks, who surrendered his remaining NCAA eligibility in December to compete professionally.

Because the race started off slowly, Rosa said he knew “there was going to be a big burn up somewhere in the second half.” But even as the bell lap arrived, the group was still clustered together, and he liked his odds.

“About 600 meters to go, we were still so bunched up. I was saying, ‘shoot, I could win this thing,’” Rosa said. “At that point, I was racing to win.”

With 200 meters to go, the race finally spaced out as Ishmael Kipkurui of New Mexico made a decisive move, gapping the rest of the field. Still, Rosa — who was also participating in the final race of his collegiate career — said he was content with his 10th place finish.

“10th is a little bit far removed from that, but I would not have had it any other way,” he said.

Sophomore Tito Alofe, who was participating in the long jump at the championships for the second straight year, had been battling a nagging knee injury coming into the meet. Just three weeks after winning the Ivy League championships with a personal best jump of 2.25 meters, he aggravated his knee while qualifying for the outdoor championships at regionals.

“When I competed on Friday, I just was not very close to 100%. I actually did better than I expected, to be 100% honest,” Alofe said.

But he will head into the offseason encouraged by his season and motivated for the future.

“While I did not end up getting first team all-American, which was my ultimate goal, I’d say I’ve put myself in a pretty good position to do pretty big things next year,” he said.

On the women’s side, senior Victoria Bossong capped off her decorated Crimson career with a ninth place finish in the 800 meters, earning All-America Second Team recognition.

With the NCAA championships behind them, Harvard’s track and field athletes will now have some time to rest before many return to Oregon for the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships at the end of July.

—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @akshayaravi22.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.