CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- This Saturday, Yale men's track and field joined forces with sworn rivals Harvard to face off against an Oxford/Cambridge dual team. This meet is covered in tradition and history, and this iteration did not disappoint. The 2023 HYOC meet was a day of high spirits and camaraderie, adorned with performances that illustrated the wealth of athletic talent across the four schools.
This meet had heightened incentives for the Bulldogs, as this meet's results will be used for team selection for a Harvard/Yale team to face off against their British counterparts in June this year. Several Bulldogs used the strong Ivy League and international competition to reach impressive heights, with a number of standout performances.
Jacob Kao has now impressed dramatically in both of Yale's outdoor events this year. He started his day winning the 4x100m relay alongside teammates
Kit Colson,
Andrew Farr and
James Grindle. He also ran a collegiate PR in the 100m of 10.71s before returning in the 200 and chopping almost half a second of his collegiate best, running 21.32s to win the competition. This wind-legal mark also gave him the meet record, especially noteworthy given the rich athletic history of this competition.
Aaron Miller was also a winner in his event as he took the 400m title home in a time of 48.75s. Miller closed hard in the final 80m of the race, showing real desire to take the win away from a talented Harvard contingent.
There were also some wins in the field. Long jumper
Isiah Udofia shone brightly, improving substantially on his previous college performances to jump a new PR of 7.20m -- a full 38cm ahead of the second-place finisher. This was a really impressive day for the first year and especially deserved after an injury-plagued start to Yale training this year. In the discus,
Matt Appel grabbed the gold with a 55.59m throw, despite unhelpful winds throughout the competition.
For the first time in HYOC competition history there was a mixed 4x400m race, which consisted of a Yale athletes Farr and
Molly Harding running together with Harvard athletes Lance Ward and Victoria Bossong. This Harvard/Yale team prevailed over Oxford and Cambridge's quartet, rounding out a successful day for the Bulldogs. The final men's score was Harvard/Yale – 12, Oxford/Cambridge – 6, and there were also a number of close second- and third-place Yale finishes not reflected in this final team score.
Now Yale's focus turns back towards hard practice and building towards late-season and conference competition.
Full results for the HYOC meet can be found
here.