Light Blue track runners return to the Armory for pair of weekend meets

Columbia track and field is back in action this weekend. The team will once again compete at the supreme facilities of the Fort Washington Avenue Armory in two separate meets. The first group will race Friday night at the Lafayette/Rider Winter Games, and a second will compete on Saturday in the third and last edition of NYRR Saturday Night at the Armory.

Both meets are, in a way, tune-ups for the Heptagonal Championships, which are just two weeks away. Indeed, league rivals Penn, Brown, and Cornell—the defending Heptagonal champions—will be in attendance for the Saturday competition.

However, the focus this time around will be more of an individual one, with many athletes racing open events as opposed to relays, and multiple ones at that. The constituent parts of the thus-far dominant women’s 4x400m, for instance, will be spread over the 400m and 200m events.

The Lions will seek to utilize their deep distance squads—first and third at the 2009 Cross Country Heps—in the mile and 3k. “All the top cross guys are running 3k,” head coach Willy Wood said. “Our hope is that enough run under 8:20 to get into the fast heat at Heps.”

Senior Serita Lachesis and junior Jacqueline Drouin—who currently rank third in the conference at 1k and 3k, respectively—will team up at the middle ground in the 1 mile.

“Jackie and Serita are both aiming for a fast mile. There will be a rabbit, and the goal is to break 4:50,” Wood said.

Other highlights include sophomores Monique Roberts and Kyra Caldwell in the high jump and 60m hurdles, in which they are ranked first and third in the conference, respectively. Additionally, the men’s 800m and mile events are stacked, and should be fertile ground for super-fast times.

But more than anything, this weekend is an opportunity for any and everyone to take a shot at a fast time and position herself for top-of-the-league competition two weeks from now. Wood said, “Anyone who is healthy is running and going to try to do something that will influence their seeding at Heps.”