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Harvard Holds A Slim Lead After Day One of Heptagonal Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Hosting the Ivy League
Heptagonal Track & Field Championships served the Harvard men's
team well, as it stands in first-place after day one of the event
with 32 points, just ahead of Cornell (31) and Princeton (25). The
Crimson has not won the Ivy League indoor championship since
1985.
Dartmouth (20.50), Columbia (7), Yale (5.50), Penn (2) and Brown
(1) round out the rest of the standings.
Harvard won three titles on the first day of the Ivy League
championships. Sophomore Ben Glauser became the
first Crimson since Dave Anderson in 1994 to win
the weight throw, as his toss of 63-6 ¾ was more than enough
to hold off Cornell's Stephen Mozia, who placed
second with a throw of 60-8 ¾. Glauser was joined on the
podium by senior Matthew Polega, who placed
fifth.
Not to be outdone, Crimson senior Nico Weiler
became Harvard's first two-time pole vault champion since
Geoff Stiles in 1978-79, as Weiler held on to his
title with an all-time Ivy record of 17-7 ¾, beating
Princeton's Dave Slovenski's mark of 17-7
¼, set in 2011. In the only track championship of the day
for the men, Harvard senior Maksim Korolev
thrilled the home crowd with a come-from-behind victory in the
3,000m, crossing the line in 8:04.19, the eighth-fastest time in
meet history.
Although the Big Red did not have a champion on day one of the Ivy
League Championships, it did have a trio of second-place finishers,
which garnered Cornell 23 points. Besides Mozia in the weight
throw, junior David Kim tied for second in the
pole vault after clearing 15-5 and junior Steven
Bell, who was gunning for his third-straight long jump
title, took second with a leap of 24-3.
The Tigers, meanwhile, are very much in the running for a
fourth-straight Ivy League Indoor Championship. Princeton was led
by junior Damon McLean, who ended Bell's hold on
the long jump after reaching 24-9 ¼, the sixth-best mark in
meet history and the best since Princeton's Ugwunna
Ikpeowo hit 24-9 ¾ in 1996. McLean was joined on
the podium by junior Tom Hopkins, who placed third
in the event with a mark of 23-10. The Tigers also picked up nine
points in the 3,000m, as junior Chris Bendsten
placed second with a time of 8:07.01 and senior Michael
Franklin finished sixth with a time of 8:10.60.
Dartmouth senior Brett Gilson earned seven points
in the pole vault after tying with Cornell's Kim for second, while
sophomore Thomas Servino took third in the weight
throw with a toss of 59-4 ¾. Senior John
Bleday was unable to defend his 3,000m title from a year
ago, finishing fourth this time around after crossing the line in
8:09.83.
The second day of the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track &
Field Championships will kick off at 10:00 a.m., with the men's
heptathlon 60m hurdles. Princeton sophomore Stephen
Soerens leads the group with 3,049 points.
Men's Team Standings
1. Harvard, 32
2. Cornell, 31
3. Princeton, 25
4. Dartmouth, 20.5
5. Columbia, 7
6. Yale, 5.5
7. Penn, 2
8. Brown, 1
