The track and field teams will travel to Penn State this weekend for the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup. The meet will take place on Ashenfelter Track in University Park this Friday and Saturday for two full days of events.
After coming off of impressive performances last week, the teams look to continue their success into the next meet. While running in the Armory against top athletes in the nation, the men’s team finished second overall with 109.5 points, closely behind Ivy League rival Princeton’s 126 points. The women’s team took first place overall with 162 points. Even with their strong finishes in mind, the teams are still preparing hard for this upcoming meet.
“We’re doing well this year,” said sophomore sprinter/hurdler Nick Huber. “But we’re working real hard to do even better. We’re definitely geared to do our best.”
The athletes seem to be taking the meets one at a time and are in good shape to continue trying to bring their best possible performances.
“I’m feeling great right now,” Huber said. “I’m just trying to do what Coach [Nathan Taylor] tells me to do.”
Sometimes hard work does not always translate to good results. A week ago at the Armory, the Red had a little bad luck in the 4×400 relay when junior Cody Boyd –– the third leg of the relay –– lost his shoe in the middle of the race. Cornell still finished an impressive third, but because of the lost shoe, the team also lost the chance to fully compete with the event-winning Princeton team.
“We had some bad luck last week,” Huber said. “They ran a 3:11, which would be great for us to compete with. We’re going to try and run with Princeton this time. … We’re looking to redeem ourselves next week.”
Cornell has the chance to compete against Princeton again. Previously, these regular season meetings against Princeton were rare, but for the first time this season, Cornell will compete against Princeton multiple times before the Heptagonal Championships.
“[Princeton is] real tough this season,” Huber said.
The Sabock Challenge Cup this week presents a special kind of opportunity for the Red because it is a rare two-day meet. The extra time allows athletes to compete in events they may not be the most specialized in. Such opportunities are extremely valuable for multi-event athletes like Huber, who will eventually compete in the heptathlon at the championships.
“We can do more things because the meet is over [a period of] two days,” Huber said. “I’ll be able to practice some events.”
Original Author: Wankyu Lee