May 1, 2006

Cornell Competes in Relays, Invite

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The Penn Relays is one the one of the most prestigious track meets in the country, with hundreds of schools competing in Philadelphia, thousands of fans in attendance, and a carnival-like atmosphere, as dozens of events take place. Amid the excitement, the Red track teams turned in some solid performances, including a win by junior Evan Whitehall in the college pole vault event, and a third-place finish by the women’s sprint relay team.

“The Penn Relays is the one of the most incredible track meets in the world,” said men’s head coach Nathan Taylor. “It’s a fantastic environment.”

Whitehall cleared 16-6 3/4 to win the college title, one of the two pole vault titles at the event. Also in the jumps, sophomore Muhammad Halim took third in the Eastern long jump event, with a mark of 24-2 1/4. He was also third in the college triple jump, with a 49-5 1/2. Sophomore Rayon Taylor took eighth in the triple jump championship, with a mark of 49-8.

On the track, Cornell took seventh in the championship race of the 4×800 meters, as the team of freshman Andy Miller, sophomore Jimmy Wyner, senior Gordon Hall and senior James Connolly ran a 7:25.7, which was fourth-best time in the program’s history and the fastest time by a Cornell team since 1975. Wyner ran a blistering 1:48 on the second leg, to lead the team.

Also in a championship race, junior Brad Baird took fifth in the steeplechase with a season-best time of 8:57.13. In the college steeplechase event, junior Aaron Arlinghaus took second with a time of 9:05.79. Both times were NCAA regional-qualifying marks.

“Brad Baird and Aaron Arlinghaus had some of the highlights of the meet for us,” Taylor said.

In the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Adam Seabrook and senior Greg Simonds turned in times of 52.07 and 52.29, respectively, which were both NCAA regional-qualifying times.

For the women’s squad, in the sprint medley, junior Morgan Uceny, freshman Jeomi Maduka, junior Cameron Washington and senior Linda Trotter took third with a time of 3:48.41. In the distance medley relay, senior Ruth Morgan, junior Nyam Kagwima, and freshmen Aeriel Emig and Tameka Royal won the event with a time of 11:32.32 – No. 8 all-time for Cornell.

In the college steeplechase event, as juniors Toni-Lynn Salucci and Robyn Ellerbrock ran first and second to take the top-2 spots in the field. The 4×400 relay team won the Heptagonal-only event with a time of 3:39.45.

In the high jump, junior Sarah Wilfred continued her impressive season with a leap of 6-0, giving her a second-place finish in the championship high jump event.

Meanwhile, a number of Cornell athletes also competed in Ithaca over the weekend at the Big Red Invitational. Both teams won eight events each, as the men managed strong performances in the 110-meter hurdles and the women took the top-4 places in the long jump.

Sophomore Saidu Ezike ran a time of 14.45 to win the 100-meter hurdles, and junior Kolby Hoover won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.96. Sophomore Ian Ward won the steeplechase in a time of 9:43.73, and sophomore Chris Leonberg was a winner in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.85.

Junior David Pell – also a competitor at the Penn Relays – cleared 6-11 1/2 to take first place in the high jump. Junior Kunle Saliu won the triple jump with a mark of 47-1 1/2, while Bryan Holland won the discus throw.

On the women’s side, junior Stephanie King won the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.46. Freshman Jessica Retelny was a winner in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.36. Freshman Tameka Royal won the 400 meter dash in a time of 57.31.

In the field, senior Sheeba Ibidunni won the shot put with a heave of 44-4 3/4, while freshman Erin Folger won the javelin with a mark of 123-02. Freshman Maria Matos won the discus with a throw of 154-07.

Junior Karen Snyder won the long jump, while junior Erin Linehan won the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:43.63.

Archived article by Ted Nyman
Sun Senior Editor