Dec. 4, 2007

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Junior Jake Gallagher was recently chosen to be the captain of the Yale men's cross country team for the 2008 season. At the annual cross-country team banquet last Wednesday night, Gallagher was elected by a team vote.

Gallagher, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been a key contributor to both the cross-country and track teams so far at Yale. After being sidelined by an injury mid-season freshman year, the past two years he has been the Yale's top harrier. He earned Second Team All-Ivy honors at the Heps Cross-Country Championships in addition to winning the Harvard-Yale dual meet both years. Last year, he became the first Yale sophomore to break 25:00 minutes on the 8,000-meter course at Van Cortlandt Park.

On the track, Gallagher recently went undefeated in three meets during Yale's tour in England over the summer. He has also scored at Heps in the 5000m and was the anchor of Yale's All-East Distance Medley Relay team last winter at the Indoor IC4A Championships.

While competing for Charles Allen High School, Gallagher was one of the top junior distance runners in Canada, participating in the 2005 Canadian World Junior Cross Country Championships and finishing fourth at the 2005 Pan-Am games in the 5000-meters.

Gallagher also received other honors at the banquet: he was named the recipient of the Mike Stanley - John Cleary Class of 1954 Men's Cross Country Award. Each year this honor is awarded to the outstanding member of the Yale men's cross country team who excels in Dedication, Commitment, and Inspiration to the sport of cross-country.

Report by Bevin Peters '09, Yale Sports Publicity