Track and field teams have strong weekend on West Coast

With the indoor season behind them, the Syracuse University men and women’s track and field teams sent a few competitors to the Stanford University Invitational and the Asics-Winthrop Invitational this weekend. Of the three SU participants that competed this weekend, all finished in the top 10 of their respective events.

Senior Kelsey Rubeor had a spectacular showing in the women’s heptathlon, finishing first overall with a personal best of 5,337 points. She finished first in five of the seven events that make of the heptathlon to round out a great start to the outdoor season.

Due to her performance this weekend, Rubeor has already qualified for the Big East and ECAC Championships in high jump, long jump and javelin. She also qualified for the ECACs in heptathlon.

Another SU competitor, Ieva Staponkute, had a great showing at Winthrop.  The junior placed 2^nd in the long jump with a leap of 5.75m and 9^th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.96.

Shamel Lewis rounded out the Orange in Winthrop with a seventh overall finish in the men’s 200 meter-dash in a time of 22.46. He also ran in the 100-meter dash, receiving a time of 10.81 in the preliminary round.

Out in California, SU had an up-and-down performance at the Stanford invite.

Sophomore Joseph Bubniak had the best showing for the Orange, placing fifth in section four of the men’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:52.

In the men’s 5,000-meter run, Robert Molke (11^th, section three) and Corey Robinson (13^th, section 2) finished with times of 14:22.25 and 14:22.88, respectively.

Four SU men ran in the 1,000-meter run, finishing in the top 30. Tito Medrano (17^th) and Pat Dupont (28^th) ran in the first section with times of 29:22 and 30:13, respectively. In the second section, Jay Koloseus (21^st) and Sean Keefe (25^th) finished with 29:58 and 30:06.

For the women, Lauren Penney and Katie Hursey had top 10 finishes in the 5,000-meter run in the first section. Penney finished 6^th in 16:09 while Hursey finished 7^th in 16:10. In the second section, Rebekah MacKay (13^th) and Heather Stephens (18^th) ran in 16:52 and 17:09, respectively. Sarah Pagano finished 6^th in third section with a time of 16:32, while Lauren Kersjes (29^th) ran in the fourth section with a time of 17:25.

Finally, Cassie White ran the 3000-meter steeplechase in 10:33, earning her a second place finish in the second section and Catherine DeSarle finished the 10,000-meter 13^th in 33:38.

The Orange travels to New Jersey on April 1 for the Sam Howell Memorial Invitation, hosted by Princeton University.