Sports in brief

Crimson cross country flies at Franklin Park

The Harvard men’s and women’s cross country teams put forth impressive efforts in NCAA Northeast Regional Championship action this past Saturday (Nov. 12) at Boston’s Franklin Park. The men placed eighth overall (out of 37 schools), while the women – paced by sophomore Lindsey Scherf, who placed fifth out of 254 runners – finished ninth (out of 38 teams).

On the strength of her time (20:34.7), Scherf automatically qualifes for the NCAA Championship, which will be held Nov. 21 at Indiana State University.

NFHCA names Crimson pair all-regional

Senior field hockey players Jennifer McDavitt and Beth Sackovich have recently been named first-team Division I All-Region selections by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA).

As the team captain this year, McDavitt – who was also receantly named to the first All-Ivy squad – paced the Crimson offense with 4 goals and 4 assists to finish her career fifth on Harvard’s all-time scoring chart. Defense woman Sackovich, meanwhile, earned her first all-region selection and consecutive second-team All-Ivy selection.

Harvard finished the season with a 2-1 victory over Columbia on Nov. 5 to wrap up its 2005 campaign, 6-11; 2-5 Ivy.

Sailors notch third at dinghy champs

Seniors Vincent Porter and Ruth Schlitz captured five of 15 races to finish second in the B division and lead the Harvard sailing team to a third-place finish at the Atlantic Coast Dinghy Championship Nov. 12-13 at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Also over the weekend, the Crimson finished seventh out of 18 competing schools at the Atlantic Coast Women’s Championship at Coast Guard in New London, Conn.

League names Altchek player of the year

Harvard junior striker Charles Altchek has been nominated Ivy League Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. Altchek led the Ancient Eight in nearly every offensive category, including shots (59), shots per game (3.7), points (22), points per game (1.4), goals (11), goals per game (0.7), and game-winning goals (4). His 11 goals – the most scored in a single season by a Harvard player since 1997 – were four more than any other soccer athlete in the league.

Joining Altchek on the All-Ivy team were senior midfielder Nicholas Tornaritis, who made the second team, and senior defender William Craig, who was named an honorable mention.

– Compiled by Andrew Brooks