Women
The Valentine Classic hosted elite runners from all three divisions and even included club athletes. Elise Tropiano ’09 and senior co-captain Heather Wilson both displayed strong performances in the 3,000-meter run. Tropiano took 13th place, crossing the finish line in less than 10 minutes and establishing a new personal record. Wilson placed 18th and ran close to her own best time.
Also, Nicole Anderson ’09 led the distance runners to a dominating presence at the Smith Invite. Anderson placed first in the 5,000-meter run, and Hallie Schwab ’11 followed with second place in her collegiate debut. In the 800-meter run, junior Mariana Palacios broke her personal record to place fifth overall and earned recognition as the women’s performer of the meet.
Men
The men had a productive day at the Valentine Classic as well. Notably, first-year Peter Harrison set a new personal record with a time of 4:17 in the mile run, and Mike Harbus ’08 placed first in his section of the 5,000-meter run. In addition, Jimmy Swanson ’10 shaved off five seconds from his personal best mile time. Junior tri-captain Peter Foote and sophomore Daniel Murner had solid races in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, respectively.
At the Smith Invite, however, the team felt the loss of key runners. Sophomore Eric Holaday earned the men’s only first-place finish. Ben Mears ’11 and Will Fairhurst ’10 were close behind to take fourth and eighth in the 3,000-meter run. Tom Anderson ’10 also took second in the 1,000-meter run, while Anthony Fuller ’09 stayed consistent with his strong performance in the 55-meter event.