Sprinters, Hurtault Excel in Florida

Among a strong field of competitors from schools such as the University of Miami, Central Florida, and Texas A&M, the Lions' sprinters had a successful day of competition April 14 at the Miami Elite Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla.

Although he finished behind Rickey Harris, running for Adidas, senior Erison Hurtault's performance in the 400-meter dash was the highlight of the day for Columbia, as his time of 45.99 broke his own school record of 46.12. This time also qualifies Hurtault for the NCAA Regional competition on May 25-26 in Gainesville, Fla.

On the women's side, sophomore Melissa Ikono ran the 100-meter dash with a time of 12:06, good enough for 12th place and one of Columbia's top-five fastest times in the event. Junior Ashley Williams finished eighth in the 400-meter with a time of 56.33.

The Lions' female hurdlers continued their streak of success, as junior Osamuede Iyoha ran the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.44, one of the top-five fastest times in school history. Junior Whitney Crayton, Iyoha, and senior Katy Schlichtman each ran the 400-meter hurdles and placed fourth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. The three hurdlers were joined by Williams to comprise a 4x400-meter relay team that placed fifth overall.

While the sprinters were in Miami, the distance runners were in California for the Mt. SAC Relays on April 13 and the Long Beach Invitational on April 14.

Four Lions-seniors Susan Hendrick and Daniella Padilla and juniors Liam Boylan-Pett and Shelby Leland-bested the NCAA qualifying times. Hendrick and Padilla qualified in the 1500-meter with times of 4:24.99 and 4:27.46, Boylan-Pett in the same event with a time of 3:46.43, and Leland in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:48.40 that was good enough for sixth place.

Despite successes in the 1500, those hoping to qualify in the 800-meter were disappointed, both at the Mt. SAC Relays and the Long Beach Invitational.

Boylan-Pett won the 800-meter event at the Long Beach Invitational, but just missed the NCAA qualifying mark of 1:50.40 by two-tenths of a second. Boylan-Pett was followed by his teammates, junior Jonah Rathbun, freshman Mike Mark, senior Kent Collins, and junior Zach Richard in the event, who took fourth, fifth, eighth, and tenth. Mark and Collins also ran the 800-meter at the Mt. SAC Relays, but their second- and fifth-place finishes were not good enough to qualify.

Despite missing the qualifying times, Rathbun says the team is still confident-those who did not qualify are disappointed, but are taking the results in stride. "It's not like the season's over," he said. "Whether or not we met the standard, we put up good times, we showed progress."

After the success of Hendrick, Padilla, and Leland at Mt. SAC, none of the women were successful in their bid to qualify for NCAAs at the Long Beach Invitational, despite high individual finishes. Senior Sarah Decker finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:11.39, and junior Carmen Ballard finished second in the 1500 with a time of 4:29.12.

The Lions have a busy schedule between now and the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championships on May 5. Yesterday's New York Relays, to be held at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island for team members who weren't traveling, were cancelled due to the weather, but there are still four more meets to go before Heps. Next weekend is the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton on April 20 and the Auburn Invitational on April 21. Again, these meets will mean more opportunities to hit the regional standard time.