Lions Face Regional Foes a Yale Opener in First Meet of Season

The Columbia track teams will kick off its 2008-09 season by competing in the Yale Opener, formally called the Lidifter Invitational, this weekend. Facing teams from all over the northeast, the Lions will have the chance to break out their spikes before any frost sets in.
The Light Blue’s main competition will be the Bulldogs. Although the Yale Opener is not a scored meet, it offers a chance for Columbia to match up with its other Ivy League foes. At last season’s Heptagonal Championships, the women’s team tied for fifth above Yale’s team, whereas the men’s squad came in sixth place, far below the Bulldogs’ third-place finish. It is possible that Columbia’s new recruits in the field events will allow the women’s group to place even higher above Yale and the men’s side to take down the Bulldogs come Ivy League Championships.
Senior Marissa Smith and sophomore Laura Vogel will be returning on the women’s team after taking two of the top three spots in last year’s 800-meter event. Sophomore Abbie Dubin-Rhodin, a distance runner, will also be returning with the aim of once again winning the mile event. In field events, sophomores Nicole Opareke, Jacqui Brown, and Courtney Loftin will also be back after sweeping the top three places in the triple jump.
The men’s squad boasts sophomore Jeff Moriarty and junior Michael Mark, who will be back after taking two of the top three places in the mile race at last year’s competition.
This meet will serve primarily as a training opportunity for the Lions, who will be moving forward without some star athletes like Carmen Ballard and Liam Boylan-Pett, both CC ’08. The Yale Opener is the team’s only meet before winter break. It will serve to identify the fitness level of each athlete and inspire training.
The Lions will return in January to face off once more against the Bulldogs at the Dartmouth-Yale Tri-meet on Sunday, Jan. 18.