Columbia track and field scored a major victory on one of the collegiate track world's biggest stages on Saturday, when the men's 4x800-meter relay team captured the men's Championship of America title at the Penn Relays with a time of 7:22.64-a new school record.
"It's kind of cool that we're having so much success," senior Kent Collins said of his team's performance this weekend. "It's good to go into Heps on a high note. To go out and compete on a national level in middle distance is really neat."
The victory by freshman Mike Mark, junior Jonah Rathbun, senior Erison Hurtault, and junior Liam Boylan-Pett marks the first time since 1938 that Columbia captured a title in this division, and the first time since 1974 an Ivy League school did so.
The Light Blue narrowly edged the University of Michigan, which finished only .1 of a second behind the Lions.
Columbia also captured the men's collegiate Distance Medley Relay title on Friday, as a the team of Collins junior Zach Richard, freshman Cory Benton, and senior Gabe Johnston won with a time of 9:53.48.
The team was able to stay focused despite a two-hour weather delay, which made warming up for the race-difficult enough at the Penn Relays-even tougher. "You just pretty much really need to stay on top of things mentally," Collins explained.
On the women's side, the 4x800 relay team of seniors Sarah Decker and Susan Hendrick, freshman Serita Lachesis, and junior Carmen Ballard finished 12th in the women's Championship division.
The women's 4x400-meter team of senior Katy Schlichtman and juniors Ashley Williams, Osamuede Iyoha, and Whitney Crayton ran third in the Heptagonal Championship heat.
The team also saw individual success at the Relays. On Thursday, the first day of competition, Iyoha finished 22nd in a field of 65 with a time of 1:01.86 in the 400m hurdles-the fastest outdoor time for the event in Columbia history. She was followed by Crayton in 26th place, and Schlichtman ran the course in 1:05.93. Sophomore Jeff Randall finished eleventh in the 3000-meter steeplechase championship, and senior Sophi Dentzel threw 40.69 meters in the javelin for the fourth best score in team history.
The success puts the team in a strong position going into the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonals on May 5. Now, the Lions will spend the next week reducing their mileage and resting their legs in preparation for Heps.
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