Lions look to last chance meet for qualification

Columbia indoor track will host a last-chance meet tomorrow evening at the New York Armory for those who hope to qualify for the NCAA championships, held in Fayetteville, Ark., March 12—13. Representatives of 40 institutions will be in attendance for the four-hour event, which will feature the high jump, 1 mile and 3k runs, and 1600m relay, among others events.

After taking the 3k title at Heps last week and setting a school record of 4:02.60 in the mile earlier this season, sophomore Kyle Merber will aim for an automatic qualifier in the 1 mile this weekend. Though the banked track standard of 3:59.00 is a tall order, Merber can take solace in the fact that alumnus and former school record holder Liam Boylan-Pett will be there to rabbit him through.

With a Heps title and school record of her own, sophomore Monique Roberts seeks an automatic standard in the high jump. While Roberts has cleared upwards of 1.82m—currently the 13th highest in the country—a jump of over six feet would guarantee her admission to the big dance.

The women’s 4x400m relay—including sophomores Sharay Hale, Kyra Caldwell, and Kristen Houp, and freshman Yamira Bell—has posted a time of 3:41.19. They’ll need a considerable drop to hit the banked track standard of 3:33.00.

Other key events include the men’s and women’s 800m, which will feature senior Serita Lachesis on the women’s side, and junior Matthew Stewart and senior Mike Mark for the men. Junior Jacqueline Drouin aims to lower her 1-mile mark of 4:49.76, while junior Brendan Martin looks to better his 8:19.93 3k.

Competition gets underway tomorrow at 3 p.m. Those Lions who achieve the appropriate standards will head to Fayetteville for NCAAs on March 12.