Track Heads Back to Penn Relays Hoping to Repeat Historic Win

The Lions will return back to the site of some of last season’s most memorable achievements as they compete at the historic Penn Relays today. Columbia’s track and field teams will be working to top their previous performances without the help of key athletes who graduated at the end of last year.

All eyes will undoubtedly be on the men’s 4x800-meter relay. Last year, the group of sophomore Michael Mark, seniors Jonah Rathbun and Liam Boylan-Pett, and Erison Hurtault, CC ’07, managed to capture the Championship of America title for the first time since 1938. The relay managed to break a school record by nearly three seconds and was the first Ivy League squad to win the event since 1974.

This year, either freshman Jeff Moriarty or Zach Richard will join the group of Mark, Rathbun, and Boylan-Pett. Thus far, the foursome including Moriarty has taken third at indoor track Heptagonal Championships, while Richard has competed with the group at the prestigious Millrose Games. The latter group captured fourth place behind powerhouses Arkansas and Villanova. This season’s fastest 4x800-meter relay was 7:37.06, and the top outdoor mark is currently 7:52.52. Last year’s Penn Relays time was a speedy 7:22.64.

Other Columbia relays nabbed high-place finishes. The group of sophomore Corey Benton, senior Zach Richard, Kent Collins, CC ’07, and Gabriel Johnston, CC’07, won the men’s distance medley relay. This year, juniors Jeff Randall and Ryan Hays will likely join Benton and Richard. The relay took third at this year’s indoor Ivy League Championships with a time of 10:02.42. Last year’s winning time was 9:53.48.

For the women’s team, senior Osamuede Iyoha, senior Whitney Crayton, Ashley Williams, CC ’07, and Katy Schlichtman, CC ’07, took the bronze in last year’s meet in the 4x400-meter Heptagonal Championship heat with a time of 3:51.60. This season’s group, comprised of Crayton, senior Erika Moses, freshman Laura Vogel, and junior Marissa Smith, took sixth at Ivy League Championships with a 3:54.04. The relay’s fastest time this year has been a 3:49.90 earned at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational during the indoor season. Columbia ran two races that earned spots in school history, with Iyoha breaking the record in the woman’s 400-meter hurdles and the 4x100-meter relay running the third-fastest time in school history. The distance medley relay also ran the second-best time in Columbia history. Iyoha, who broke the record with a 1:01.86 at last year’s Penn Relays, has already topped that this season with a 1:01.31 earned at last weekend’s Larry Ellis Invitational.

Penn Relays will be a test for the Lions, who will truly discover whether or not they are prepared to move forward in their outdoor competitions without the seasoned veterans that no longer run in light blue colors.