Nationally Ranked Foes Await Lions

The Lions will have to dig deep into their pride in this weekend’s competitions. Facing off against nationally ranked schools and individual athletes, the track and field teams will race at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York and the St. Valentine Invitational in Boston.

The New Balance meet, one of the more widely attended competitions this season, will be especially challenging for the Light Blue. At last year’s meet, the men finished tenth and the women finished 13th. Nationally ranked schools including Tennessee, currently first for men and second for women, Arkansas, third for men and fourth for women, and Louisiana State University, ranked 12th for men and first for women, will be sending athletes to Friday’s contest. The Lions will also compete against Ivy competitors Princeton and, in the women’s events only, Penn.

The Columbia women will be especially strong in their distance races, with Light Blue athletes seeded in five events. The Lions’ distance medley is ranked first, while senior Carmen Ballard is seeded ninth in the 3,000-meter run. Other distance veterans like freshman miler Jillian Goodwin, sophomore Irena Ossola in the 5,000-meter college event, and seniors Shelby Leland and Stephanie Lenihan in the 5,000-meter championship race, will make appearances in the longer contests.

The sprinting and mid-distance events will expose the Light Blue to seasoned competitors who will likely lead the races and push the Lions to run faster times. Seniors Erika Moses and Whitney Crayton, junior Marissa Smith, and freshman Laura Vogel, running the 400-meter race, will compete against the top three nationally ranked runners in their event. Four of the top 10 hurdlers will be lining up against Columbia athletes in the 60-meter hurdles: senior Osamuede Iyoha, junior Elisse Douglass, and freshman Melesa Johnson.

Distance will also be the strong arm of the men’s team, with the Light Blue seeded in three events. Senior Dan Whitt is ninth in the 5,000-meter championship race, while sophomore Curtis Aukshunas and freshmen Anthony Merra, Dustin Martin, and Brendan Martin are eighth, 24th, 25th, and 28th, respectively, in the 5,000-meter college race. The Columbia distance medley relay is currently seeded 15th.

Sophomores Tyler Hendry and Stefan Vutescu will face tough opposition in the sprint events. Though both runners, especially Vutescu, have had solid seasons thus far, Tennessee sprinters Evander Wells and Rubin Williams will be competing in the 60-meter and 200-meter events alongside the Light Blue athletes.

Competition will take place all day Friday and Saturday at the Armory Track and Field Center in Washington Heights.