Small Squad of Runners to Travel to Yale Springtime Invitational

While most of the Columbia track and field team is in Philadelphia for the Penn Relays or is resting up for the Ivy League Heptagonals on May 5, a limited squad will travel to New Haven for the Yale Springtime Invitational on Sunday.

The women's side will send the sprinters that are not competing on a relay team, including sophomores Melissa Ikono and Elisse Douglass, and junior Erika Moses. Sophomore Kate Vernon is the lone Light Blue representative in a distance event, running the 800-meter, and senior Sophia Dentzel will compete in the javelin throw.

The men's side will send a more balanced squad, with distance runners senior Brian Horneck, sophomore Ryan Hays, and freshmen Chris Hays and Bobby Hartnett all competing for the Lions alongside sophomore sprinter Jonny Ribeiro.

Ikono, Dentzel and Ribeiro have recently competed for the Lion, representing Columbia at the Auburn Invitational on April 22. Ikono, whose fastest time for the 200-meter dash this season was a 25.54 mark at the Miami Invitational on April 14, ran a time of 26.12 at Auburn, while Dentzel threw 40.86m, good enough for second overall in the event. Ribeiro finished fifth in his heat of the 200 with a time of 22.84.

While the meet is a good chance for runners to sharpen up, the focus is still on the upcoming Heptagonals next week.