Men’s, Women’s Harriers Leave Behind Competition

While the men’s basketball team has captivated the student body with its success this season, the men’s and women’s track teams continue to excel under the radar at Cornell. Cornell hosted the Robert J. Kane Invitational this past weekend and both squads dominated the competition.

The women overwhelmed their foes in the shorter distance sprinting events. Freshman Mecha Santos won the 60-meter dash, while teammate sophomore Megan Williams took second. Santos again finished just in front of Williams in the 200-meter dash, as they finished second and third, respectively, losing only to teammate sophomore Jess Weyman. Weyman also won the 400-meter dash, where she led a Cornell sweep of the top-4 spots. Junior Erin Payne placed second in 400-meter dash and fifth in the 200-meter event. [1]Citizen Kane: t the Robert J. Kane Invitational, senior Saidu Ezike (above) won the 60-meter dash for the Red. The men won nine events while the women won 16 events.

In the 800-meter run, junior Amanda Wheat topped the field while her teammates took second through fourth. Sophomore Lindsay Broyhill finished first and was among five Cornellians in the top-6 in the 1000-meter race. Her classmate, Kerri Lyons, finished behind only teammate junior Aeriel Emig in the one-mile run. Emig, who also finished third in the 1000-meter event, was the only competitor to run the mile in less than five minutes.

“I was happy with my time and hope to keep things going in the right direction,” Emig said of her progress this season.

Sophomore Stephanie Pancoast led Cornell to a sweep of the top-5 spots in the 3000-meter event. Junior Katie Roll’s time of 17:57.27 was fast enough to win the 5000-meter run by more than a seven-second margin.

Senior Joan Casey won multiple events: the 60-meter hurdle and the triple jump. Cornell also won the 4x400-meter relay event. On the field, Sarah Wilfred ’07 returned to Ithaca and captured the title in the high jump. Natalie Gengel continued her stellar season by winning the pole vault, a feat that is becoming habit for the sophomore. Multisport athlete Jeomi Maduka crushed the competition while leading a Red sweep of top-5 finishes in the long jump.

Cornell also had the top-3 finishers in the shot put, led by freshman Cassie Schweighofer. Junior Maria Matos, who placed second in the shot put, won the weight throw.

“Everyone seemed to perform very well,” Emig said. “People are continuing to decrease their times and increase their throws and jumps.”

The men could not match the women’s 16 event wins, but still put forth an impressive showing. The squad won nine events, which is especially impressive considering that many of the team’s top athletes took the weekend off to rest.

Junior Marcel van Eeden finished fastest in the 400-meter dash. Sophomore Mike Kippins likewise finished first in the 500-meter dash. In both the 4x400-meter relay and 4x800 meter relay, the Red’s “A” and “B” teams placed first and second, respectively. Senior Saidu Ezike easily earned a victory in the 60-meter hurdles.

“[My performance] was sloppy, but I was tired from last week and there was not too much competition,” Ezike said. “I’m just gearing up for Heptagonals because that is where the team as a whole has to really let loose.”

Junior Garrett Huyler headlined a goup of Red competitors that had the three best heights in the high jump. Sophomore Josh Kirkpatrick won a tightly contested pole vault competition. Senior Muhammad Halim finished ahead of sophomore Duane Teixeira as the two took earned the top marks in the long jump. Halim again finished ahead of Teixeria in the triple jump, as the two finished first and third, respectively, in that event.

A smaller contingent of Cornell athletes traveled to New York City to compete in the Lafayette-Rider Invitational. Junior Zach Hine won the 3000-meter race there while teammate senior Adam Seabrook led a 1-2-3 Red sweep of the 400-meter sprint.