California is a nice place to spend Spring Break, and it turned out to be a great place for the men’s and women’s track teams. Competing at both the Long Beach Invitational and the UC-Irvine Collegiate Classic, the Red athletes turned in a number of first place individual performances, while also setting a number of NCAA regional qualifying marks.
Among numerous highlights of the week – including junior David Pell’s clearance of the 7-0 mark in the high jump – was senior Jamie Greubel’s victory in the women’s heptathlon at the UC-Irvine Classic last Saturday. Greubel earned 5,439 points – a personal best, and the nation’s best finish in the young outdoor season. She managed five personal records in the multi-event competition, including a 14.52 in the 100-meter hurdles and a 2:16.67 in the 800 meters. Her result also made her a provisional qualifier for the NCAA outdoor nationals.
On March 18, the women took the overall title at the Long Beach Invitational, led by 11 first place results. Junior Sarah Wilfred cleared 6-0 in the high jump, setting both a personal and a school record. Her jump was also good enough to make Wilfred an NCAA regional qualifier. Meanwhile, freshman Jeomi Maduka was another regional qualifier, taking first place in both the long jump and the triple jump, with marks of 19-9 and 40-11, respectively.
Cornell also looked solid on the track, as junior Cameron Washington was victorious in the 400 meters with a time of 56.57, while junior Nyam Kagwima took first place in the 1500 meters with a personal-best time of 4:31.99. Both results were also ECAC qualifying times.
Senior Ruth Morgan and freshman Robin Daniels took first and second place in the 800 meters, with respective times of 2:15.20 and 2:15.36. The Red also had the top-2 finishers in the steeplechase, as juniors Robyn Ellerbrock and Toni-Lynn Salucci ran times of 10:55.82 and 11:01.37, respectively.
The men’s team took second place at the Long Beach Invitational. Junior Brad Baird took the individual title in the steeplechase with an NCAA regional qualifying time of 9:05.00. Four different sophomores were also individual winners at the meet, led by Jimmy Wyner’s IC4A qualifying time of 14:28.35 in the 5,000 meters. Aaron Merrill took first place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.89, while Adam Seabrook won the 400 meters with time of 48.66. Mike Smayda was victorious in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:54.6.
In the jumping events, sophomore Muhammad Halim set an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 49-10 – earning third place among tough competition – while junior Evan Whitehall cleared 15-7 in the pole vault to earn first place. Pell took second place in the high jump with a mark of 6-10.
The men’s team continued its strong performance in the jumps at the UC-Irvine Classic, as both Whitehall and Pell cleared important marks to earn individual titles. Whitehall won his event with a mark of 16-0 , while Pell took first place with a 7-0 jump. Pell’s result made him an NCAA regional qualifier, and Whitehall’s was an IC4A qualifying mark.
Cornell showed its depth in the triple jump, as sophomore Rayon Taylor and Halim were first and second with jumps of 51-0 and 49-9, respectively. Those results were also NCAA qualifying marks.
Meanwhile, the runners continued their success after the Long Beach meet, as Baird, Merrill, and Wyner all earned first place results. Baird took first in the steeplechase with a time of 9:05.56, while Merrill won the 110-meter hurdles with time of 14.64. Wyner took the individual title in the 800 meters with time of 1:51.07, and senior Gordon Hall was second in the same event with a mark of 1:52.15.
The women also turned in a number of first place results on the track, as junior Morgan Uceny won the 800 meters with a NCAA regional qualifying time of 2:06.23. Salucci and Ellerbrock were again the top-2 finishers in the steeplechase, with Salucci taking first place with a NCAA regional qualifying mark of 10:49.7.
Freshman Maria Matos took first place in the discus throw with a mark of 154-3. Junior Shawna Rossini tied for first place in the high jump with a 5-7 mark. Maduka was again victorious with a result of 39-9 in the triple jump.
Archived article by Ted Nyman
Sun Staff Writer