Though many members of the Columbia track and field team qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference/IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships, only a small number will travel to Boston, Mass. for the championships this weekend, while another squad heads to Notre Dame for its Last Chance Meet.
The ECAC/IC4A Championships will present the Lions with their biggest challenge thus far this season. Not only will the entire Ivy League be present at the championships, but 82 other Division I schools from the East Coast will also be there.
Last weekend’s Indoor Ivy League Heptagonals—during which the Lions won four individual titles and 15 runners earned all-Ivy honors—produced a number of ECAC-qualifying performances, but only a few runners will proceed to the national-level championships. Head coach Willie Wood explained the selection in an e-mail.
“We had many individuals and relays qualify for this year’s championships,” Wood wrote. “However, we are coming off a very tough weekend of competition, so we are only taking those individuals who we feel will benefit from another week of competition.”
Senior Megan Lessard, who brought home the Ivy League title in the mile for the Light Blue, is one of the runners traveling to Boston. She hopes to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 3000-meter dash this weekend. Sophomore Jeff Moriarty harbors similar NCAA dreams and will attempt to attain a qualifying time in the 800-meter dash at the Last Chance Meet. The men’s relay squad, which has already won the Ivy League title and taken first place at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, is hoping to improve its tremendous season at Notre Dame’s meet.
Expectations for the individuals and the relay team are high, especially after the momentous success of Heptagonals.
“I think this type of competition is why we compete,” Wood wrote. “It is what we thrive on. Undoubtedly, they will do the best they are capable of.”
The ECAC/IC4A Indoor Championships will run from March 7 to March 8, while the Last Chance Meet will take place on March 8 at Notre Dame.
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