The track and field teams enjoyed a banner weekend, as both the men and women came away with convincing victories in an Ivy League meet at Harvard.
The men amassed an impressive total of 87.50 points to finish comfortably ahead of the Crimson (49.50), with Brown finishing a disappointing third (33). Not to be outdone, the women cruised home with 88.50 points — more than double the tally of runner-up Harvard (39).
“I was surprised,” men’s head coach Nathan Taylor said, “I didn’t think that the meet would turn out as it did. Both Harvard and Brown didn’t appear to be ready to go against us.”
On the men’s side, the Red used its domination of the field events to take home seven individual and two relay victories. Cornell’s depth was on display in the weight throw where senior Jeremy Blanchet led a clean sweep of the points. Victories also followed in the shot put, long jump, and triple jump. However, it was the points picked up on the track which left an impression on Taylor.
“The [wins] on the track were the significant ones,” he observed, “We know we have a pretty good field team. The wins in the 400m, 500m, and 3000m were terrific results. Overall, our team depth and strength was the deciding factor.”
The last meeting between these three schools had produced some close finishes, but the Red dominated proceedings in every facet this time around. The stellar all-round performance was a tribute to both the work ethic of the team and to Taylor’s commitment to build a deep squad.
“I think it’s the kids on the team,” he said, “They work really hard at it, and they’re very receptive to coaching. There’s also a difference in philosophy between schools. The philosophy for me is that we are always going to have a strong overall team.”
While the men were scoring points on the field, the women were busy brushing aside the opposition on the track. The Red won every sprint and distance event, with the exception of the 4×800 relay. It ended the meet with eight individual first places, and one relay win.
“It has always been a very close meet,” women’s coach Lou Duesing said. “I was very surprised that we dominated in that fashion.”
Junior Katy Jay continued to add to her growing collection of accolades, taking home the 200m and 400m races.
“It was the usual,” quipped Duesing. “It’s too bad to put it that way, but you grow to expect that she’s going to do some great things. She had a personal best in the 400m, ran very fast in the 200m, and even wanted to run the mile relay at the end.”
Sophomore Hannah Garrity produced the performance of the day, including a victory in the 60m and second place in the weight throw.
“Hannah Garrity had a phenomenal day,” agreed Duesing, “She was a surprise winner in the 60m sprint. Every race she runs, she gets faster!”
With the Red running away with the meet by an incredible margin of 49.50 points, Duesing was full of praise for his athletes.
“I was very happy with the way people competed,” he said, “People were doing some great things in the clutch. I was very pleased with the quality of the performances, the enthusiasm and excitement that the kids generated amongst themselves. You really can’t ask for any more from people.”
The track teams will look to build on their successes at Harvard when they host Ivy League rival Yale on Saturday.
Archived article by Soo Kim