Cornell track and field criss-crossed the East Coast last week to compete in four meets, where runners sought to secure qualifying times ahead of the Ivy League Heptagonal and ECAC championships.
If the goal was to solidify the team’s standing before the postseason, then the past week treated the Red well. At the Larry Ellis Invitational hosted in Princeton, New Jersey last Saturday, the men’s team finished with 21 top-15 finishes, while women’s ended the day with 20 top-10 performances.
Jumpers played a key role in powering the success of both teams. After placing second in three consecutive meets, senior Oseoba Airewele cleared 15.08 in the triple jump to finish first overall, while senior Alex Rodriguez claimed a top finish in long jump with 7.42m. Senior Myles Lazarou nearly completed a trifecta in the high jump, but had to settle for 2.04m in a three-way tie for second. For women’s, senior Claudia Dabrowski finished fifth overall in long jump, punching her ticket to the ECAC championship in May.
Track and field turned in a similarly strong showing on the race track, boasting several ECAC-qualifying times. Sophomore Brittany Stenekes’ 100 hurdle race clocked in at 13.75, earning her third place against stiff competition. Senior captain Ellen Shepard finished fourth in the 100m with 12.10, and qualified for the ECAC meet with 24.68 in the 200. Junior Ellery Bianco ran a personal best of 61.84 in the 400 hurdles, another qualifying time.
At the War Eagle Invite in Auburn, Alabama — where some of the men’s team competed last Friday — runners echoed the success of their female counterparts. Junior Austin Lyons logged a third place finish in the 110m hurdles, followed by juniors Zach Menchaca and Ryan Wiegel finishing 17th and 25th in the 100m, respectively. Menchaca, Weigel, sophomore Andy Snyder and junior Alex Beck rounded out the meet by taking ninth in the 4×100 relay race.
Meanwhile, Cornell’s distance runners — Seniors Chase Silverman, Michael Wang, and Dom DeLuca — competed in UVA’s Virginia Classic. Wang finished 13th in the 3000m steeplechase, Silverman placed 16th in the 1500m and DeLuca ran the 5000m in 14:36.32.
Cornell also sent a small group of freshmen and sophomore runners to Cortland this past weekend. Notable performances included Jacinto Gomez’s 400m 55.50 hurdle second place finish and Kevin Van’s third place in the 1500m.
Action resumes for the Red this weekend when track and field competes in the Penn Relays.