Women's 4x400m relay, Hale qualify for NCAA Championships

Columbia track and field fared well this weekend in its first focused meet of the season at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Provisional standards for the NCAA Championships were achieved in two events, with an equal number of school records set.

The women’s 4x400m—consisting of sophomores Sharay Hale and Kristen Houp and freshmen Kyra Caldwell and Uju Ofoche—posted a 3:41.49 time in seventh place in the championship section. The quartet has made a habit of revision, as that mark not only satisfied the NCAA provisional standard of 3:42.80, but broke the previous school record for the third time in a row. Hale was likewise successful in her own bid, hitting 54.73 in the 400m finals, comfortably under the provisional 54.90.

Freshman Dora Vegvari had a breakthrough performance in the long jump to set a new school record of 5.95m. Two distance women, junior Jacqueline Drouin and senior Serita Lachesis, performed well in the championship sections of the 3k and 800m events, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. On the field, sophomore Uzunma Udeh took third in the triple jump at 11.91m.

On the men’s side, sophomore Kyle Merber made a solid debut at 3k with an 8:09.01 to take fifth in the championship section. Two half-mile specialists, sophomore Matthew Stewart and senior Michael Mark, showcased their strength in the 1k, finishing sixth and eighth with times of 2:26.78 and 2:27.32, respectively.

The Lions return to action this weekend for the third segment of the NYRR Saturday Night at the Armory, a meet also promising top competition.