Track and field team gives solid performance in early season competition

With the New York Road Runners College Saturday Night at the Armory this weekend, Columbia track and field now has two competitions under its belt for the 2010 season. Both of these meets however, have been in anticipation of larger ones that will occur later in the season. The most immediate event to come is the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, held next week in Washington Heights in New York City.

This weekend though, many athletes ran distances above or below their specialty in order to fine-tune their race strategies. The women, who finished fifth of eight teams, were able to rack up many points in the 500m and 4x400m relay events. Sophomore Sharay Hale was a constant force in both of these events, winning the 500m in 1:11.24 and anchoring the relay to a school record 3:42.60. Freshman Kyra Caldwell, who also took part in the 4x400m, took second in the 60m hurdles in 8.67 seconds to contribute eight points. The remaining members of the 4x400m race included freshman Uju Ofoche and sophomore Kristen Houp.

Freshmen Mallory Anderson, Yamira Bell, and Emily Lanois were joined by sophomore Samantha Lee to put together a distance medley relay team that took second place, falling only to the University of Virginia. They were able to place ahead of league rivals Princeton and Cornell.

On the field, sophomore Monique Roberts continued her record-setting streak with a 1.82m high jump. The improvement on her 1.81m tri-meet effort was good enough for first place and contributed 10 points to the total women’s team score.

The men finished in 11th place but were able to field many athletes and acclimate them to indoor competition. Sophomore Adam Behnke continued along the comeback route, placing fifth in the 1k with a time of 2:29.91. A group of half-milers including senior Mike Mark and juniors Matt Stewart and Dylan Issacson competed in the 500m to sharpen leg speed. Lastly, distance runners Justin Heck, Matt Ciambriello, Leighton Spencer, and Ben Veilleux raced the mile in preparation for forthcoming 3k competitions later in the season. Vellieux finished best of the group at 16th with a time of 4:16.94.

Next weekend is the first competition in which all Lions will race their preferred events when they compete in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.