Heps Highlight Light Blue’s Individual Success

The Columbia track and field teams earned mixed results in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships this weekend. While the women improved upon last year’s last place finish to tie for fifth place, the men’s team dropped from fourth to sixth place this season.

The weekend began with the Lions in last place at the end of day one. Columbia sent nine women into the Sunday finals, the third-highest out of the Ancient Eight. The men’s team sent eight qualifiers into finals, tying with Penn for the third-highest number of continuing athletes. At the end of Saturday’s competition, Princeton was leading the men’s contest, followed by Cornell, while on the women’s side, the Big Red led, followed by the Tigers.

On the men’s side, seniors Liam Boylan-Pett and Ryan Hays advanced in the mile, and sophomore Stefan Vutescu qualified for the 60-meter dash. The Lions sent three of its top mid-distance runners—freshman Jeff Moriarty, senior Zach Richard, and sophomore Chris Hays— to the 1,000-meter race. Sophomore Mike Mark and senior Jonah Rathbun were automatic qualifiers for the 800-meter run.

For the women, senior Osamuede Iyoha and freshman Melesa Johnson advanced to the 60-meter hurdles, with Iyoha tying her 2005 school record of 8.85 seconds. Three Columbians – senior Carmen Ballard and freshmen Erin Hays and Jackie Drouin—qualified for the mile run. Sophomore Serita Lachesis made it to the finals in the 800-meter run, and junior Melissa Ikono not only qualified for the 60-meter dash finals but also broke a school record for the second time in two weeks. Ikono finished the race in a time of 7.65 seconds, breaking her own record of 7.71 seconds. Senior Erika Moses advanced in the 400-meter dash, and Ikono continued on in the 200-meter race. In the 5,000-meter event finals, senior Stephanie Lenihan came in fifth.

Sunday’s events began with a win for the Lions, with Boylan-Pett defeating nationally ranked Princeton runner Michael Maag to sweep the mile run. Mark placed fifth in the 800-meter race finals, and Vutescu came in sixth in the men’s 60-meter dash. Nationally ranked Penn runner Tim Kaijala won the 1,000-meter race for the third consecutive time, as expected, and broke the Barton Hall record, but Moriarty and Richard came in behind him in second and third place. The men’s 4x800-meter relay team of Mark, Moriarty, Rathbun, and Boylan-Pett finished third, as did the distance medley relay squad of Richard, sophomore Cory Benton, Ryan Hays, and junior Jeff Randall.

The women’s team enjoyed individual success in its Sunday events. Iyoha came in second in the 60-meter hurdles, followed by Johnson in fourth place. Moses, competing in the 400-meter dash, took second after winning her heat. Ikono narrowly lost to nationally ranked Cornell sprinter Jeomi Maduka in the 60-meter dash but snagged a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter race, won by Penn senior Shaunee Morgan. Ikono qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in both of her races. Ballard, in fourth place, fell to Princeton’s Liz Costello and Penn’s Stacy Kim, both star runners, in the 1-mile race. Junior Elisse Douglass placed fifth in the very competitive triple jump event, and the women’s 4x400-meter relay group took sixth. The 4x800-meter relay fared better, with Ballard, Drouin, and freshmen Abbie Dubin-Rhodin and Samantha Lee coming in fourth.

The Lions will compete this weekend at the Eastern Conference Athletic Championships in Boston before moving on to the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend.