Track Team Fares Well at Annual Penn Relays in Philadelphia

The Columbia men and women’s track and field squad were down in Philadelphia over the weekend for the Penn Relay’s. The Lions showed great promise, posting good performances while sending a strong message out to their Ivy-League rivals. The relays are infamous for having the toughest competition of any event on the Lions schedule, and the Lions did not seem to cower to the tough opposition.

The women’s squad was again propelled by their dependable distance relay runners. The women were led by the distance medley team of junior Erin Raggio, nationally-ranked sophomore Caitlin Hickin, sophomore Mary Winter and junior Vanessa Yonan. The squad placed sixth overall in their competition, with a time of 11:32.33. The medley team participated in the Championship for America Heat, which consisted of the strongest group of runners the Lions will face this year. The squad, who won this event at the indoor heps, seems poised to build on this race.

“None of us ran our personal best, but we still beat both Ivy schools in the race, it is a good out-look, we will be stronger by the Heps,” said Raggio.

The women’s 4x800 squad also made a strong showing for the Light Blue. The team of Raggio, senior Megan Gregory, Yonan and freshman Caryn Waterson, set the Columbia school record in the event. Their time of 8:46.55 was good enough for ninth-place.

The woman distance runners also made a decent showing in the 4x1500m relay. The team of Raggio, Hickin, Yonan and freshman Trish Nolan, finished eighth in their championship of America heat with a time of 18:25.96.

The men’s distance relay runners also made respectable showings in their events. In the 4x800, the team of first-year Dan Knappmiller, junior Darin Schroeder, sophomore Vince Galgano and sophomore Andrew Edwards, finished seventh in their heat with a time of 7:35:07. The distance medley relay team of senior Evan Zeisel, junior David Nash, Galgano and Gerry Groothuis, placed fourteenth in their section.

Although the Lions would have liked to finish higher, they still feel the race is part of a long process.

“We are all starting to come together, we will peak towards the Heps,” Said Knapmiller.

In the 4x400 races, both the men and women’s squads placed in seventh overall. The men’s side, run by Schroeder, Sophomore Lee Kowitz, Knappmiller and junior Kevin Verge, finished the race in 3:23.16. The women’s side, run by senior Megan Gregory, sophomore Val Thorson, sophomore Julia Driznsky, and sophomore Mary Winter finished a stellar seventh with a time of 3:56.96.

“We could have done a lot better,” said Knapmiller. “But we still had a lot better showing than last year.”

In the last of the relays, the sprint medley championships, the men finished fifth in their section, while the women took fourth in theirs.

The Lions also made a strong showing in several of the individual events. The Light Blue was led by first-year Delilah Dicrescenzo’s performance in the 3000m-steeplechase event. Dicrescenzo finished fourth overall in the race, posting a time of 10:58.21. In the 3000m run championship, sophomore Alex Guerreo also fared well, placing a strong eight overall with a time of 9:48.27.

Junior Michelle Kercado, who is still trying to regain her form after a back injury last season, jumped an 11-04.25 in the pole vault, good enough for eighth in that competition.

Lastly, the end came to recently nationally ranked junior Lindsey Stephenson's compelling story. Stephenson had won two straight javelin competitions going into Thursday’s event. Stephenson, who had to battle rain and blustery temperatures all day, was able to place herself into the championship group. Stephenson ended up finishing seventh overall with a throw of 137-05.

Although she did not win this week’s event, Stephenson was still grateful for making it as far as she did.

“The fact that I was in the championship was pretty cool,” she said.

Stephenson, along with the rest of the track and field team will go south again – this time to Princeton for one last tune-up before the Heps and ECAC’s.