Women's Preview: Harvard Crimson

Preview by Mary Boggs. Photos by Dan Grossman.

With the loss of seven seniors who scored points at last year’s Heps, some people may think that this year would be a rebuilding year for the Crimson women … However, that is not the case as the underclassmen and new freshmen are quickly filling in those gaps … The high jump, pentathlon and hurdle events that have a long successful history at Harvard show high scoring potential this year … Junior Dina Emde (Highland Beach, Fla.) and frosh Mary Hirst (Knoxville, Tenn.) look to fill the vacant spot of ‘Harvard’s top high jumper’ … Emde has placed in the top two in all of the meets so far this season, the top collegiate finisher in three of them … Hirst won her first high jump event at HYP with a new season best … Hirst and sophomores Nicole Sliva (Monte Sereno, Calif.) and Christine Reed (Los Gatos, Calif.) can score in the challenging indoor pentathlon … Reed is a strong hurdler as well, but freshman Ashtynn Baltimore (LaVerne, Calif.) has quickly put her name in both the Harvard and League record books by running the second-fastest 60m hurdle time in history, an NCAA Provisional qualifying 8.43 … Baltimore, along with fellow rookie Olivia Weeks (Corning, N.Y.), are threats in the horizontal jumps … Frosh Brianne Holland-Stergar (Butte, Mont.) and Shannon Watt (Jackson, N.J.) look to score in both the shot put and weight throw in their first years in the Ivy League … Yet another freshman, the sixth one in this preview, Carlyle Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.) is looking at the conference title in the 800m, where she holds the fastest time in the League at 2:09.44 … “The freshman have done an outstanding job… they’ve handled the transitions well in part of the great leadership of our upperclassmen but also because they want to get after it and shake things up,” Coach Saretsky told The Crimson earlier this season … Juniors Claire Richardson (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jamie Olsen (Glastonbury, Conn.) look to lead the Crimson in the distance events, as that squad placed second at Heps Cross Country this past fall.

Crimson Among The Heps Top 10

Ashtynn Baltimore, Fr., 60mH—1 (8.43); LJ—1 (19-7 1/2)

Melissa Bellin, Fr., 500m—9 (1:15.45)

Nicole Cochran, Soph., 1k—8 (2:55.72)

Carlyle Davis, Fr., 500m—3 (1:13.60); 800m—1 (2:09.44)

Dina Emde, Jr., HJ—2 (5-7)

Meghan Ferreira, Fr., 60mH—9 (8.98)

Mary Hirst, Fr., HJ—4 (5-5)

Brianne Holland-Stergar, Fr., SP—9 (42-9); WT—6 (52-2 1/2)

Eliza Ives, Jr., 5k—7 (17:14.57)
Thea Lee, Jr., 800m—9 (2:13.76)

Christine Reed, Soph., 60mH—5 (8.95); Pen—3 (3,159)

Claire Richardson, Jr., Mile—2 (4:52.71)

Nicole Sliva, Soph., Pen—2 (3,161)

Shannon Watt, Fr., SP—6 (43-11 3/4)

Olivia Weeks, Fr., LJ—9 (18-7); TJ—3 (39-8 1/2)

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