After showing significant promise last week at the Giegengack Invitational, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams came up short this Saturday in Cambridge against archrivals Harvard and Princeton.
The Tigers and the Crimson dominated the men’s team. The Elis scored 13.00 points to Princeton’s 100.50 and Harvard’s 56.50. Despite a disappointing team finish, the Bulldogs were able to secure four individual podium finishes.
Captain Matthew Bieszard ’12 shone in the 400-meter dash, finishing in second place overall with a personal collegiate best of 48.40 seconds. Daniel Jones ’14 was third in the 60-meter dash with a personal record and IC4A-qualifying time of 6.96 seconds.
“I know I could have done better,” Jones said. “I messed up on the little things, the details. And when you mess up a few of the details, that’s the difference between getting third with a 6.96 and getting first with a 6.92.”
William Rowe ’15 placed fourth in an extremely tight 500-meter dash. Like his fellow freshman, Daniel Kemp ’15 came up big in the 60-meter hurdles, where he ended in fourth and set a personal record.
Dana Lindberg ’14 placed fourth in the long jump with a height of 6.94 meters. He said that he was disappointed that he could not top his similar performances in the last two meets and that the Bulldogs could easily have beaten the Crimson. However, Lindberg said the Elis will have a chance for revenge against Princeton at the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championships later this month.
“We are good team, but if we are going to do well at the [Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championships], then every individual will need to take it upon him or herself to compete better than they ever have before,” said Tim Hillas ’13, who finished fourth in the mile run with a personal-best 4:08.43, improving his previous best this season by over three seconds.
Like the men’s team, the women’s track and field team was able to attain four top-three finishes, despite scoring only 13.00 points and falling well short of Princeton’s 80 and Harvard’s 65.50.
Lindsey Raymond ’12 met success on Saturday, placing third in the 3,000-meter race. Her time qualified her for the ECAC Championships and was the best by an Eli all season. (Raymond is a former city editor for the News.)
“I think I could have done a better job of pacing myself so I could have time to catch up to the leaders,” Raymond said. She added that the Bulldogs’ disappointment will motivate them to victory at Heps.
Kira Garry ’15, who finished sixth in the 3000-meter, said that she was pleased to set a personal record and to do well in her first HYP meet. She said the team had the right attitude going into the meet and was prepared but simply did not compete to its ability.
In the one-mile run, the Bulldogs also fared well, capturing second and third places. Sarah Barry ’14 finished with a time of 4:50.56, just ahead of Nihal Kayali ’13.
“It was an exciting race given the great competition, and I was happy to be able to score some points for the team,” Barry said.
The women’s day also featured a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles by Amanda Snajder ’14, a third-place finish in the pole vault by Emily Urciuoli ’14 and a third-place finish in the triple jump by Elle Brunsdale ’15.
“There were a few great performances over the weekend, but as a collective group, we fell short of our goals,” said Urciuoli. “We need to forget about the meet, move forward, and train over the next few weeks.”
The Bulldogs will take a week off and then compete in its most important meet yet at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships on Feb. 25.