This past weekend, the Red hosted both the men and women at the Cornell Spring Invitational. Both teams performed very well against its competitors, most of whom were teams from upstate New York schools. However, the weather proved to be a hindrance as the temperatures in the morning dipped to the 40s. “I think the weather is going to be a lot better [next weekend]. It was sunny and nice this weekend but with the weather under 50 degrees, it was tough for a lot of us to get prepared,” said senior Nick Huber. “This weekend [at Bucknell] we will be able to get going and face some good competition as well.” Overall, the men picked won 12 events and 16 IC4A qualifiers, while the women won 13 events and nine ECAC qualifiers.For the women, the standout 4X100 all-freshmen and sophomore team of sophomore Anjelique Parnell, freshman Zena Kolliesuah, sophomore Ebolutalese Airewele and freshman Katie Woodford, did an outstanding job that put the dynamic four into first place, with a time of 46.52.Another highlight of the invitational came from Taylor Baird in the 100 hurdles, she tied her personal record with a 14.36 in the qualifiers before placing first with a 14.27 — No. 8 all time — to win the final.Senior co-captain Molly Glantz won the 400 hurdles at 60.83, while sophomore Ryan Woolley came in second at 63.10 and junior Mari Giurastante grabbed fourth with 64.39.There were also several standout performances in the field as well. Junior Brittany Dombrowski had a big break-through in the javelin, winning the event with a 141’2” — a personal best, No. 3 all-time at Cornell and an ECAC qualifier. Senior Erin Rossi also continued her dominance in the hammer by beating the ECAC standard with a heave of 168’8”.The jumpers had an excellent weekend as well, with junior Ailish Hanly clearing 5’7” to take first and match the ECAC standard. Additionally, freshman Renee McKee jumped a 5’3” to take third and sophomore Jennifer Bush cleared 5’3” to place fifth.The men also had a great go at the Spring Invitational on Friday and Saturday, producing very strong performances all around.The day began on a high-note with the 4X100 as sophomore Chris Bain, junior Jedidiah Adarguah-Yiadon, senior Chase Aaronson and sophomore Kinsley Ojukwu ran a 41.20 to win and beat the Eastern standard.One of the standouts for the men was a Cornell head-to-head battle in the 800 in which freshman Rutger Admirand overtook the 2011 outdoor 800 Heps champion, junior Nick Wade, by a margin of .07.“There were some highlights and some disappointments,” Huber said. “I ended up having five personal bests out of the eight events that I did so I was doing pretty well.” The Red also had a great day in the field as well. Cornell swept three of the four throwing events with IC4A qualifying efforts. Senior co-captain Bob Belden won the shot put at 52’ 4 ½” and placed second in the discus at 153’ 5.” Junior Bob Fiedler set another personal record in the hammer with a mark of 191’ 6”, No. 10 all-time at Cornell, allowing him to take first for the day.In the high jump, sophomore Montez Blair cleared 7’ ¼” for first place, while senior Chris Arlinghaus joined him as an IC4A qualifier with a 6’ 8 ¼.” Sophomore Tommy Butler finished in third with a 6’ 6 ¼.”Next weekend, both teams will continue the season in the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic in Lewisburg, P.A. to continue the season.“The number one goal is to win the Ivy League Championship,” said Huber. “And beat Princeton.”
Original Author: Haley Velasco