Harriers Prepare for IC4A

Heading into the IC4A Indoor Championships this weekend, the men’s track team got all the momentum it needed after winning the Ivy League Championship with a record score of 205, including a record-winning margin of 56 points over rival Princeton.
The men got the revenge they were looking for after Princeton defeated them by a mere three points in last season’s Ivy League Championship.
“It was really amazing to be a part of this great performance,” said junior Garrett Huyler. “Our team set the record for the most points at Heps and for the largest margin of victory at Heps. It was great to see the entire team do well and set all those records, especially in front of all the alumni and all the people watching.”
Earlier in the season Huyler cleared a school record 7-1 in the high jump and became one of the four men’s NCAA provisional qualifiers.
“Right now I’m right outside the top-15 and in order to get there I need to clear 7-2,” Huyler said. “I really want to clear 7-2 for the next meet.”
Senior tri-captain Muhammad Halim, who led the men by winning the triple jump and long jump and being named the meet’s Most Outstanding Performer, is another NCAA qualifier, along with senior Saidu Ezike and junior Erik Roneker. [img_assist|nid=28532|title=Above and beyond|desc=Junior Garrett Huyler, one of four men’s NCAA provisional qualifiers, jumped a school-record 7-1 in the high jump earlier this season.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
The men now hope to bring the momentum into the IC4A Championship this weekend where they are attempting to defend their title as they face their strongest opposing field of the year.
“I think it’s going to be a very good meet,” Huyler said. “We won against a very strong field last year and we’re all really excited about defending our title.”
Last season’s victory in the IC4A was the Red’s first in 77 years. They came out on top out of 53 teams, with Seton Hall and Georgetown coming in second and third respectively.
The women came in third this season at Heps and were not able to defend their title from last year’s indoor championships.
Despite the team loss at Heps the women were able to look up to some strong individual performances that they hope will continue at this weekend’s ECAC Championships. Junior Jeomi Maduka, for the second year in a row, was named Most Outstanding Performer after setting school records in the triple jump, long jump, and 60 including the third-best jump in the nation for the year. She won all three events.
Last season, the women finished in fifth place out of 51 teams in the ECAC Indoor Championships. The Red hopes to reverse the momentum from last weekend’s Ivy League Championships and improve on their ECAC performance this year.
Halim and Maduka were both named Most Outstanding Performers for the men and women, respectively, and now the Red needs them as well as everyone on the team to step up for the biggest event so far this season.
“The team has done outstanding so far this season,” Huyler said. “Now we just have to keep the momentum going and try to defend our title at IC4A.”