For the men’s and women’s track teams, the spring season is shaping up to be just like the winter. The track teams continued their runs of dominance this weekend, pulling out top-8 finishes in more than a dozen events each at the Quaker Invitational at Penn, a non-scoring meet. The Red competed under clear skies for the first time in weeks and shone against tough competition from the Ivy League, as well as LaSalle and Villanova.
The men earned 19 top-5 finishes, including winners in three track events. Those winners were freshmen James Wyner in the 800-meter (1:51.63) and Aaron Merrill in the 400-meter hurdles (52.52 seconds), while sophomore Bradley Baird took the 3000-meter (9:17.10). Merrill also placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.47).
Sophomore Kolby Hoover (second place; 53.58) and freshman Mike Pilgrim (fifth place; 55.66) fared well in the 400-meter hurdles. Freshman Michael Smayda took third (1:52.58) and junior Gordon Hall (1:53.53) seventh in the 800-meter run. Seniors Oliver Tassinari and Emory Mort placed third (3:49.44) and eighth (3:51.96), respectively, in the 1500-meter run. While Baird won the 3000-meter, sophomore Ian Ward right behind with a time of 9:40.30. Finally, the men’s 4×400 relay also excelled, earning a second-place finish (3:17.70).
In the field, the Red had top-5 finishes in seven of the eight events. Senior Zach Beadle finished second in the shot put, throwing 16.73 meters. Junor Pat McDonough (1.98 meters) and sophomore David Pell (1.93 meters) took fourth and sixth places, respectively, in the high jump, while senior long jumper Ryan Schmidt jumped 6.87 meters, good for fourth place. Sophomore Evan Whitehall (4.70 meters) and senior Adam Sansiveri (4.70 meters) pole vaulted to second and third places, respectively.
Sophomore Rayon Taylor’s triple jump of 15.62 meters won him third place, while freshman Muhammad Halim (14.86 meters) earned him fourth in the event. Sophomore Shane Messner placed fourth in the hammer throw (48.03 meters) and ninth in the discuss (39.46 meters). Finally, junior Derrick Bass threw 57.18 meters, Ryan Kiscadden threw 52.77 meters, and freshman Frank Fetterolf threw 52.01 meters, earning the trio fifth, seventh, and eighth place, respectively.
The Quaker Invitational was dominated by the Red last year, when the men had seven event winners, and the women had 15 top-5 finishes. The women more than duplicated that feat this time, with 18 top-5 finishers.
Senior Jessica Brown (2:07.63) finished second in the 100-meter dash, with sophomores Natalya Johnson (13.05) and Stephanie Burt (13.09) taking fourth and fifth place, respectively. Junior Linda Trotter won the 400-meter dash in 54.63, and senior Morgan Uceny won the 800-meter in 2:06.37. Senior Shonda Brown (59.03) won the 400-meter hurdles, with sophomore Christina Cossell (1:04.02) capturing third place. In the 1500-meter run, senior Amber McGown placed third (4:29.75).
The 4×100 relay team of Brown, Trotter, senior Kari Steed, and junior Cameron Washington won the event with a time of 46.58. Cornell also won the 4×400 meter relay event with a time of 3:38.82. In the 100-meter hurdles, sophomore Stephanie King finished in second place (14.37) and junior Jamie Greubel (15.10) finished fifth. Sophomore Robyn Ellerbrock placed second in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
The Red had dominated the field events as well. Freshman Joan Casey (3.35m) placed second in the pole vault, and Greubel placed second in the long jump. Junior Sheeba Ibidunni earned third with a 13.50m throw, and fourth in the hammer throw, while senior Becky Tucker won the hammer throw with a throw of 51.97m. Sophomore Danielle Dufresne’s throw of 49.52m earned her third. Rookie Crystal Thomas (42.24m) won the discus throw.
The men and women will be back in action on April 15-16 at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. and also at the Bucknell Invite on April 16.
Archived article by Josh Perlin
Sun Staff Writer