This weekend, Columbia track and field will face off against some of the best competition in the country at the Armory Track for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. The meet spans Friday and Saturday and will feature representatives from over one hundred institutions.
The goal for the Lions is two fold: to see how they match up against the nation’s best, and subsequently, secure standards for the NCAA Championships in early March.
“This is a chance for people to get in great performances still four weeks out from Heps,” said assistant coach Gavin O’Neal. “For those chasing qualifiers, it’s a great opportunity.”
The women’s 4x400m, which is coming off a school record 3:42.60 set at the Armory last week, will seek the NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Sophomore Sharay Hale is the anchor to that event and rightly so. In addition to her Heptagonal conference title in the 400m last spring, she was the fastest freshman at that distance for 2009, and her time of 52.64 was ninth fastest overall. She’ll also seek a personal bid to NCAAs, which would require at least a 54.90. Freshman Kyra Caldwell, who just missed breaking her own 60m hurdle school record last week, will join Hale, along with sophomore Kristen Houp and freshman Uju Ofoche.
Women’s distance will feature in the 3k event, where juniors Jacqueline Drouin and Julie Quinn aim to summon their cross country dynamic. Senior Serita Lachesis should post a fast time for 800m after a successful start to the season. “Serita ran a 4:52 [mile] alone—she is making tremendous progress this year,” said assistant coach Zach Richard. Sophomore Monique Roberts, who has broken two school records for the high jump in just as many meets will aim for the NCAA autoqualifying mark of 1.85m.
On the men’s side, star sophomore Kyle Merber is opening up his indoor campaign with a 3k. He’ll be joined by cross country Heptagonal champion compatriots juniors Anthony Merra and Terrence Prial, and sophomore Justin Heck. Junior Brendan Martin will run underdistance at the mile, before he moves up to 3k next week. Middle distance will finally race at 800m, an event for which two Lions, Junior Matt Stewart and senior Michael Mark, dipped under 1:50 last spring.
The Lions return to the Armory next weekend for the equally competitive, if not large, Saturday Night at the Armory III
Comments
We're looking for comments that are interesting and substantial. If your comments are excessively self-promotional or obnoxious you will be banned from commenting. Consult the comment FAQ and legal terms.