Yale Athletics

Yale’s track and field teams opened their indoor season with a busy weekend at the University of Connecticut Husky Challenge in Storrs, Conn., the Yale Season Opener at Coxe Cage and Boston University’s Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. The Bulldogs set both new school and personal records to kick off an exciting indoor season. 

The weekend began at the UConn Husky Challenge on Dec. 5. Yale sent their men’s and women’s throwing teams to compete against UConn, American Int’l, Garden State TC, Northeastern, UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell. 

“It was awesome to be able to compete in back-to-back meets for the opening weekend,” Nolan Recker ’26, a weight thrower, wrote to the News. “Competing is always a fun time.”

The men’s team was represented by Recker, Chu Anueyiagu ’27 and Jake Sun ’26, placing second, fourth and fifth, respectively. Recker set the school weight throw record last season of 66’ 10.75” and opened this season with a throw of 65’ 07.00”, just shy of his PR.

Recker recently joined the Yale football team as a multi-sport athlete as well.

“Now that track season has kicked off, I’m only doing track workouts and very focused on making sure my body is operating at its best with sleep and mobility work,” Recker wrote, highlighting the diversity of athletes represented on Yale’s track and field Team. 

The women’s team was represented by Ivy Pete ’26 and Emma Peretti ’27, placing sixth and seventh, respectively. Makayla Harris ’26 also competed, but her attempt was disqualified. 

Harris turned around her performance at Yale’s Season Opener at Coxe Cage the following day on Dec. 6 against Hartford, New Haven, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and SCSU. Harris threw a weight of 56’ 09.50”, placing first, and her work was hard-earned. 

“Last semester, our training intensity really took off—it felt like the entire team embraced a new level of commitment and energy,” Jamaal Darlington ’27, a high jump athlete and Harris’ teammate, wrote to the News. “It’s been all about refining the progress we made in the fall and using that as a springboard for a strong indoor season.”

Darlington opened the day with a PR of 1.93m in the high jump, placing first. His win was followed by 12 more event wins from the men’s team, and 10 event wins from the women’s team. Alongside the Bulldogs’ victories, many athletes scored personal records, which sets them up nicely for the upcoming season. 

These successes culminate in the Bulldogs’ comradery, support and hard work. 

“For me, the real victory is that I’m healthy and able to compete, doing what I love most,” Darlington wrote.

Owen Karas ’26 took advantage of the fitness and support he gained during the cross country season to run a school 5k record at BU’s Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, a competitive meet that draws athletes nationwide. 

His time of 13:53.27 was nearly six seconds faster than the previous record set by Kevin Dooney ’16 in 2014. 

“It is common practice to get an early track season mark in the 5k based on your aerobic base from cross country,” Karas wrote to the News. 

Karas will now turn his focus to middle distance and likely dominate the mile and 1500-meter fields. He joins the rest of his team with high hopes and strong efforts for the new season. 

“We’re laser-focused on making a real impact in the Ivy League,” Jamaal wrote. “There’s no telling how far we can go when everyone’s firing on all cylinders.”

The Bulldogs are set to compete in Hanover at Dartmouth’s Leverone Field House on Jan. 18 for the annual Yale-Dartmouth-Columbia meet.