The track and field teams were both in action over the weekend as the women competed in a dual meet against Penn, while the men competed in various meets across the Northeast. Despite horrendous weather, the women’s team won 15 out of 19 events in Saturday’s dual meet at home. Sophomore Melissa Hewitt claimed first place in the 100m (11.92) and 200m (24.85) dashes, while freshman Victoria Imbesi won the shot put and the javelin. Imbesi won the shot put with a throw of 45-2.5, a foot and a half better than the second-place effort. Her winning mark in the javelin of 132-6 was nearly four and a half feet better than the runner-up effort. Also winning their events were seniors Kerri Lyons (1500m, 4:30.31), Katherine Backel (400m, 55.70), Jessica Weyman (400m hurdles, 1:00.24 for a track record), Erin Roberts (steeplechase, 10:39.24 for a track record), Natalie Gengel (pole vault, 13-1.5), junior Cassie Schweighofer (discus, 149-1), sophomores Danielle Silas (100m hurdles, 14.50), Kristin Brandt (triple jump, 39-7.25) and Erin Rossi (hammer, 152-11). The women’s team won these events even with the cold, wet and dreary Ithaca conditions. Despite the weather’s best attempts to derail it, the Red still performed admirably. “No one complained about the weather,” said women’s head coach Lou Duesing. “No one let anything deter them from giving their best effort. As a coach you just can’t ask for more.” Senior leadership was critical, as many runners volunteered to compete in events they wouldn’t normally compete in in order to score as many points as possible. Leading this effort were Hewitt, Imbesi, Schweighofer, junior Mecha Santos, Backel and senior Megan Williams “[It was] just a great team performance across the board,” Duesing said. “I can’t say enough about the senior leadership along with contributions from so many to make this such a successful win. I also can’t say enough about how impressed we were with how people responded to the adversity of the lousy weather. They would allow no excuses on Saturday.” The men’s team competed at three different venues on Saturday. The team had athletes competing at Princeton, Cortland and Moravian in a show of many great performances. The Princeton meet showcased many of the Red’s top distance and middle distance runners, as 10 Cornellians produced eight outdoor personal bests, four IC4a qualifying times and two top 10 Cornell performances. Freshman Nick Wade, running the 800m outdoors for the first time this season, placed second in 1:49.99, the seventh best time in Cornell history. Junior Adrien Dannemiller also broke into the Cornell top 10 with a 3:46.92 in the 1500. The Moravian meet showcased Cornell’s best sprinters and jumpers. Despite the cold and windy conditions, the team was able to turn in some excellent performances. The 4×100 team of junior Andy Ahart, freshman jedidiah Adarquah-Yiadon, sophomore Chase Aaronson and freshman Bruno Hortelano-Roig crossed the line first in 41.25. Senior Marcel Van Eeden won the 400m in 48.58. Other winners included sophomores Nick Huber (400 hurdles, 53.94) and Chris Arlinghaus (high jump 6-7.5) and senior Jason Inzana (pole vault, 15-5). Winners at the Cortland Classic included sophomore Bob Belden in the discus (50.27m) and shot put (16.08m), freshman Zach Zeller in the 110 hurdles (16.1), junior Chris Tait in the 200 (22.1), junior Enbani Moore in the long jump (6.78m) and senior Scott Gorski in high jump (1.88m). Also winning was the 4×100 relay team in 44.0. This weekend’s meets, like many of the meets in the last few weeks, are geared toward helping the runners prepare for more important upcoming meets. “Really this week was all about getting ready for Penn Relays next weekend and the Ivy Champs [Heps] two weeks after that,” said men’s assistant coach Robert Johnson. Despite focusing on preparing for future meets, however, the runners still performed extremely well. “Cornell should be proud of them,” Duesing said. “The coaches sure are!”
Original Author: Jimmy Xi