In a competition steeped in history, tradition and rivalry, the Bulldog track and field teams faced off against Harvard in Cambridge this past weekend in the their annual dual meet.
Though both the men’s and women’s squads came up short in the final standings, each squad saw multiple top-three finishes and several victories.
Though these two teams go head to head every spring, this year’s meet was special. Once every four years, Yale and Harvard team up to go against Oxford and Cambridge in England, traveling for three weeks in the summer.
“The HYOC meet has been happening since 1891 on the men’s side. It is a meet with a ton of tradition and history,” women’s captain Kira Garry ’15 said. “There is definitely something really cool about being able to compete with the Harvard athletes and travel for almost three weeks. For the seniors, it is an amazing way to finish our athletic careers representing Yale.”
The Yale men’s team scored 62 points compared to Harvard’s 99, but also had multiple top-three finishes.
Hurdler Paedyn Gomes ’18 continued his successful freshman campaign, taking second in the 110-meter hurdles by just fifteen-hundredths of a second. His time of 14.38 was not only a personal best, but also the fastest ever by a freshman at Yale, as well as the eighth fastest time in school history.
Marc-Andre Alexandre ’17 also had a strong day, competing in four different events. He won the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.00, took second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.68 and competed in both the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays.
Jacob Sandry ’15 took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.86. Matt Chisholm ’18 took fifth with a time of 1:57.67.
In the 1,500-meter run, James Randon ’17 continued his domination, taking first with a time of 3:54.36. John McGowan ’15 took third with a time of 3:55.60.
Kevin Dooney ’16 took first in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 14:047.55. Cameron Stanish ’18 (14:53.15), Isa Qasim ’15 (15:01.21) — a staff columnist for the News — and Ryan Brady ’18 (15:05.79) took third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Captain William Rowe ’15 brought home a first place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, winning with a time of 56.01, more than two seconds ahead of the second place finisher.
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Duncan Tomlin ’16 took first with a time of 9:13.69, nearly 13 seconds ahead of the next runner.
Yale’s sole victory on the field came from Luke Persichetti ’17, who took first in the hammer throw with a distance of 44.33 meters.
“Although we lost we are at a good spot moving forward,” said Brendan Sullivan ’16, who placed second in the pole vault with a height of 4.80 meters. “We had several first-place finishers and the meet served as a good springboard for a successful outdoor season.”
The women’s team, despite scoring 66.50 points compared to Harvard’s 89.50, improved over last year’s finish of 53 points to Harvard’s 87.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Garry, who took first place in two different events: the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 3,000-meter run.
In the steeplechase, Garry, with a time of 10:24.71, came in over a minute ahead of the second-place finisher, Rachel Jones ’17, who finished with a time of 11:52.55.
Garry also led the field in a massive 3,000-meter run, as it was the only long-distance event the meet offered. Her time of 9:53.36 was more than five seconds ahead of the second-place Crimson runner.
In third, with a time of 10:03.64, was Dana Klein ’18. Sami Glass ’18 (10:15.27) and Chandler Olson ’17 (10:19.40) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Emily Cable ’15 also had a strong day, taking first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.96 and second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.39, just two-hundredths of a second behind the first place finisher. She was the sole Yale runner in both events.
Shannon McDonnell ’16 took first in the 800-meter run with a 2:12.36. She led a field of nine runners, seven of which were Bulldogs. Frances Schmeide ’17 took third with a time of 2:14.46.
Two Elis placed in the top four in the 1,500-meter run. Emily Waligurski ’17 took second with a time of 4:39.80, less than two-tenths of a second behind the leader. Meredith Rizzo ’17 came in fourth with a time of 4:42.86.
Hurdler Mackenzie Mathews ’16 placed second with a time of 14.27 in the 100-meter hurdles and second again in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:11.94.
Though Harvard’s relay team was disqualified, Yale’s 4×100-meter relay team still put on a strong performance. The squad, consisting of Cable, Mathews, Sydney Cureton ’16 and Katerra Logan ’17, ran the race in a time of 47.55.
In the field, the Bulldogs posted strong performances across the board. In the pole vault, Cathrine Shih ’15 took second with a jump of 3.50 meters. Renee Vogel ’16 also jumped 3.50 meters, but took fourth because it took her an extra jump.
Alisha Jordan ’15 took first in the triple jump with a distance of 11.78 meters. She also took second in the long jump with a distance of 5.57 meters.
Meanwhile, Karleh Wilson ’16 took first in the hammer throw with a distance of 51.46 meters. She also took second in both the shot put and the discus, throwing 14.44 meters and 40.66 meters, respectively.
“This meet is the oldest track and field meet in the nation, so it feels special to be able to participate in such a historic one,” Randon said. “We gave Harvard a real run for their money, and more than doubled our point total from last year, so we’re certainly happy with the results.”
The Bulldogs will travel next Friday to Charlottesville, Va. for the University of Virginia Invitational and to Princeton for the Larry Ellis Invitational. Then, on Saturday, some competitors will return to New Haven for the Mark Young Invitational, while those competing in Virginia compete there for the second day of the meet.