The Syracuse University track and field team faired well in their return to the tri-state area this past weekend at the Cornell Upstate Challenge in Ithaca, N.Y. and the Larry Ellis Memorial Invitational in Princeton, N.J.
At Cornell, the men’s and women’s team finished fifth and fourth, respectively, while many SU competitors qualified for the Big East, ECAC, and IC4A championships later in the season at both venues.
In Princeton, the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase produced great times for the Orange, as four women finished in the top six. Katie Hursey led the way, finishing first with a time of 10:13. Right behind her was Natalie Busby (third), Heather Stephens (fourth) and Cassie White, with times of 10:16, 10:18, and 10:24.
Erin Cawley also competed in the event, finishing fourth in the second section with a time of 10:58. Hursey, Busby, and Stephens posted Big East and ECAC qualifying marks, while White qualified for the ECACs and Cawley met Big East qualifers.
For the men, the 3,000-meter steeplechase featured two SU runners. Pat Dupont had a good showing, placing fifth with a time of 8:54, while Robert Molke finished 14th in 9:07. Both men met the qualifying marks for Big East and IC4A action.
Joseph Bubniak finished sixth in the third section of the men’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:50, qualifying for Big East and IC4As. Teammate Andrew Nelson also quailed for Big East action in the fifth section, finishing fifth in 3:54.
Only one SU women competed in the women’s 1,500-meter run, but she made it count. Lauren Penney placed third in the first section with a time of 4:21 to qualify for the Big East and ECAC championships.
For the women’s 5,000-meter run, Catherine DeSarle cruised to a fourth place finish in the first section with a time of 16:25. Sarah Pagano also had a fine race with a seventh place finish and a time of 16:37. Lauren Kersjes (17th), Carly Hamond (21st), and Julie Jablonksi (22nd) finished next with times of 16:54, 16:58, and 17:00, respectively.
All of the women qualified for Big East and ICAC championships. Alexandra Clinton also qualified for Big East competition, finishing 14th with a time of 17:31 in the second section of the event.
The meet ended on a sour note for the Orange, as the men’s 5,000-meter run didn’t produce great times for Syracuse. Veterans Tito Medrano (14th) and Steven Weeks (25th) still had decent showings in the first section and qualified for Big East and IC4A action with times of 14:12 and 14:28, respectively.
Sean Keefe (28th) and Jay Koloseus (31st) also competed in the first section, crossing the finish line in 14:38 and 14:47. Patrick Geoghegan finished 21st in the second section in 14:41, while Brady Becker (23rd) ran in the third section in 15:05.
At the Cornell Upstate Challenge, SU had another decent showing, sending even more competitors to the end-of-season championships.
The women’s 100-meter dash proved to be a hotspot for SU runners, as all five women placed in the top 10. Leading the way for the Orange was Flings Owusu-Agyapong, whose time of 11.63 gave her the top time in the event. Following her was Lareea Chisholm, Ashley Keyes, Ieva Staponkute, and Serenity Martin, with times of 12.05, 12.53, 12.66, and 12.69, respectively. Owusu-Agyapong qualified for the Big East and ECAC meets.
Staponkute also had an excellent performance in the women’s triple jump. She set a new facility record, took first place, and qualified for the Big East and ECAC championships with her leap of 12.81 meters.
For the men’s 100-meter dash, Darryl White (seventh) and Shamel Lewis (eighth) each qualified for Big East and IC4A action with times of 10.72 and 10.74, respectively. Nathaniel Mercer (17th) and Evan Stivala (23rd) also finished with times of 11.10 and 11.89.
The men and women’s 4x100-meter relay teams each finished second and qualified for Big East and ECAC/IC4A action. Lewis, White, Victor Nwosu, and Donald Pollitt finished with a time of 41.28 seconds for the men. The women’s team of Chisholm, Owusu-Agyapong, Keyes, and Sa’De Lewis finished in 47.06 seconds.
Sa’De Lewis also had a strong showing in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. She finished third in 14.42, enough to qualify for the Big East championship. Three men qualified for the IC4As in the 110-meter hurdles. Matthew Callanan finished third with a time of 14.49. Pollitt (fourth) and Frank Taylor (sixth) also ran well with times of 14.56 and 14.66, respectively.
SU struggled in the 800-meter dash, as only one runner finished in the top-10 for both the men and women. Abigail Decker finished 19th in the women’s race with a time of 2:37. Greg Manning-Smith had the best time for the men, finishing 8th in 1:57. Ryan Ellis (11th), Nick Hannson (13th), and Erin Schirm (14th) came in almost immediately after Manning-Smith with times of 1:58.13, 1:58.56, and 1:58.64, respectively. Nat Saviet (17th), Matt Bennett (18th) and Patrick Murray (24th) were next for the ‘Cuse with times of 1:59.57, 1:59.75, and 2:06, respectively.
In the women’s 200-meter dash, Owusu-Agyapong had another great showing, finishing second. Her time of 24.65 also met Big East and ECAC standards in the event. Next up were Chisholm (sixth), Martin (13th) and Sa’De Lewis (14th) with times of 25.50, 26.60, and 26.74, respectively.
The men’s side also featured a tight grouping. White (seventh) and Shamel Lewis (eighth) were neck-and-neck once again in the 200-meter dash. White qualified for Big East action with a time of 22.06. Lewis finished with a time of 22.13. Callanan (17th) and Tyler McCully (18th) also ran well, with times of 23.00 and 23.14, respectively.
McCully also competed in the 400-meter dash, along with Kelly Anne McCarthy. McCully finished eighth in the men’s race in 50.19, while McCarthy’s time of 1:02 gave her 14th.
In the field, Kwaku Boah rebounded from a poor performance last weekend with a strong showing in the shot put and hammer throw. Boah finished second in the shot put and qualified for the Big East championships with a throw of 15.13 meters. He also finished fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 47.44 meters.
In men’s high jump, Stivala leapt 1.89 meters to finish sixth, while Kelsey Rubeor qualified for Big East and ECAC action in women’s long jump with a leap of 5.80 meters and a second place finish. Aubree Mercure also competed, finishing 15th with a jump of 4.87 meters.
The men’s long jump featured two Big East and IC4A qualifiers. Taylor (third) and Victor Nwosu (fifth) leapt 7.25 meters and 7.18 meters. Will Watson jumped 6.94 meters and placed 11th. Tara Brenner rounded out the competition at Cornell for the Orange in the Pole Vault. Her toss of 3.15 meters was good enough for a 5th place finish.
Next weekend, some of the team will return to Ithaca for the Cornell Big Red Invitational on May 1. Others will head to Philadelphia, Pa. for the Penn Relays, April 28-30.
