The men’s and women’s track team will compete against Yale tomorrow in Barton Hall. Last season, both Cornell squads emerged victorious in the matchup against Yale, with the men winning 100-36 and the women taking 10-of-15 first place finishes in a 95-50 win. The Red is coming off its most successful weekend, in which both squads easily defeated Harvard and Brown, and the woman produced 15 ECAC qualifiers. Senior Kate Boyles also provisionally qualified for the women’s NCAA championship in the 5000-meter with a time of 16:18.95, the second fastest time in school history.
The Cornell men ended their last meet with 11-of-16 first place finishes and a score of 97 points, while Brown posted 43 points and Harvard posted only 27 points. The Red won eight of the ten races, and finished in the top three places in the 400-meter, 500-meter, 800-meter, and 1000-meter runs. Freshmen Jordan Lester and Saidu Ezike continued their dominance in the 60-meter and 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Junior Gordon Hall set a Cornell record in the 800-meter with a time of 1:51.93, and sophomore Brian Mongeon set a personal record with 1:53.57.
“We really talked about trying to break the record this year,” said Hall. “There wasn’t … any competition, so we basically ran it [the 800-meter] like a time trial.” After pushing themselves to the limit last weekend, the team is not anticipating a repeat of its dominant display.
“The Heps [championships] are three weeks away, and I know our sprinters are beat up, so they will be resting,” Hall said. “The Yale sprinters are a solid group. It should be close, but I think we’ll pull it out.”
The women’s squad was even more successful. In the mile, seniors Carrie Richards (4:55.61, 10th best time in Cornell history) and Sarah Coseo (4:56.93), and sophomore Nyam Kagwima (4:59.25) set personal bests and ECAC qualifying times. In the 400-meter, senior Shonda Brown (56.48), junior Linda Trotter (56.55, sixth best all-time), sophomore Cameron Washington (57.20) and senior Kari Steed (57.67) took the top four spots. In the 800-meter, sophomore Morgan Uceny (2:10.62, sixth best all-time) set a personal best, as did seniors Alison Koplar (2:11.54) and Jessica Brown (2:12.16) to beat the ECAC standard time. Junior Emily McCabe’s 9:58.65 qualified her for the ECAC championship in the 3000-meter, while sophomore Stephanie King (8.82) qualified in the 60-meter hurdles.
Sophomore Sarah Wilfred qualified for the ECACs with a wining leap of 5-7 in the high jump. Junior Sheeba Ibidunni set a personal record in the weight, throwing 58-6, the second best mark in school history, to win the event. Freshman Joan Casey also vaulted 10-10, fourth best all-time.
“We’re doing great. We’re so geared up for Heps [championships],” said Wilfred. “Yale has always good competition. But in the end, I think we’ll be able to come away with a win.”
Yale competed in the Boston College Terrier Inviational last weekend. The Bulldogs won only one race, the distance medley, in a time of 11:35.81. The team failed to place any other athletes in the top three, with its next top finisher coming in fourth in the 3,000-meter and. Two Yale runners managed fifth place finishes, in the 200-meter and 800-meter events.
Archived article by Josh Perlin
Sun Staff Writer