Cornell men’s and women’s track and field teams had great success this weekend at Bucknell at the Bison Outdoor Classic, an invitational that is among the largest in the Northeast. The women’s team won four events and had almost 40 top 10 finishers in the meet. Additionally, the men’s team had six event wins.
On the men’s team, Cornell’s runners swept the podium for the 1500-meter. The times were good enough to all place in the top 5 all time for the program. Junior David Taylor’s time on the 10K earned him first among collegiate athletes in the race. His time of 29:14.07 now ranks fourth in program.
“The men’s 10K was amazing,” said senior Kristen Niedrach. “After 25 laps on the track, David Taylor continued running into the arms of his teammates who were freaking out. No better way to end the night.”
This sort of energy seemed to span the entire weekend, fueling the athletes to be at their best, according to Niedrach.
“The distance events were stellar,” Niedrach said. “The team really kicked things off on Saturday night leading to some breakthroughs on Sunday as well.”
Niedrach credited the team’s many practices this spring for the weekend’s success. According to Niedrach, these practices allowed the athletes to work together as a team and push each other to be their best.
“We worked together in our races just like we have been in practice and we were able to take each other to some speedy times,” Niedrach said.
Aside from the distance runners, other Cornell athletes saw success in Pennsylvania. Once again, junior Rudy Winkler set the school record in hammer throw, and, with his toss of 72.36 meters, he currently sits in third in the nation.
As the season starts to draw to a close, the athletes set their sights on Heps on May 7 and 8 at Princeton.
“Only three weeks until Heps, so we’ve built really strong bases and now we just need to sharpen up for championship season,” Niedrach said.
Heps is the last hurdle for both the men’s and women’s teams. This competition is what they look forward to their entire seasons, according to senior Matt Crawford.
“We are coming into the final meets of the season so it is go-time,” Crawford said. “I am looking to end my senior season on a high note and come away with a Heps team title. Our team has had lots of success already this season and we can’t afford to become complacent. We must continue to train at the highest level possible and not make mistakes.”