The Syracuse track and field team headed south this weekend for the Auburn War Eagle Invite in Auburn, Texas and the Kent Taylor-Joe Hilton Carolina Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. Unfortunately, only a few SU competitors came out with strong performances, as the majority of the team struggled against intense competition.
The only top-5 showing for the Orange in Auburn came from junior Ieva Staponkute [8]. Her leap of 12.33m in the women’s triple jump was enough for a 5th place finish in the event.
Donald Pollitt [9] and Matthew Callanan [10] also had decent performances, claiming 6th and 7th in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Pollitt finished with a time of 14.51 while Callanan came in right behind with a time of 14.56.
Jay Koloseus [11] and Frank Taylor [12] were the final SU competitors with top-10 finishes. Koloseus ran the men’s 1,500-meter event in 4:00.76; good enough for 10th place overall, while Taylor finished 8th in the men’s long jump with a leap of 6.97m.
Syracuse struggled in the women’s 200-meter dash that featured 81 runners, six of which were from SU. Flings Owusu-Agyapong [13] (26th) was the first finisher for the ‘Cuse, with a time of 24.59. Lareea Chisholm [14] (43rd) crossed the finish line next in 25.18. Amber Passalaqua [15] (59th), Kelsey Rubeor [16] (60th), and Sa’De Lewis [17] (69th) rounded out the event for the Orange in times of 26.33, 26.37, and 26.88, respectively.
The men didn’t fair as well either in the 200-meter dash. Pollitt finished 28th for the Orange with a time of 21.98, while Callanan (43rd) and Darryl White [18] (46th) finished with times of 22.28 and 22.42, respectively.
In women’s high jump, Passalaqua was the only competitor for Syracuse. She placed 19th with a jump of 1.62m.
Women’s shot put only featured one participant from Syracuse as well. Rubeor finished 15th with a toss of 13.23m.
For women’s long jump, Rubeor, Passalaqua, and Staponkute finished in the top-25. Rubeor had the best performance, finishing 11th with a jump of 5.85m. Passalaqua (21st) and Staponkute (25th) leapt 5.60m and 5.50m, respectively.
In the lone relay event for Syracuse, the team of Shamel Lewis [19], White, Victor Nwosu [20], and Pollitt finished 13th in the men’s 4x100-meter relay.
Moving on to Chapel Hill, Syracuse only participated in three events, but had a better performance than in Auburn.
Lauren Penney [21] took 4th in the women’s 1,500-meter run as the lone SU runner in the event.
Robert Molke [22] was also alone in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, but still managed a 3rd place finish with a time of 9:00.
In the men’s 1,500-meter run, three SU runners competed. Ryley Miller [23] had a best showing in the event for the Orange, finishing 7th with a time of 3.44. Joseph Bubniak [24] (20th) and Andrew Nelson [25] (27th) came in next in times of 3.46 and 3.49, respectively.
Syracuse returns to the tri-state area for another two-meet weekend. On Saturday, April 23, some of the track and field team will head to Ithaca, N.Y. for the Cornell Upstate Challenge, while others will go to New Jersey for the Princeton Larry Ellis Memorial Invite.
