tagreena's Blog

Orange welcome the Rams for 2011-12 season opener

The men's basketball team zeroes in on Fordham in the team's regular season opener Saturday.

After two exhibition wins, the No. 5 Syracuse University men’s basketball team finally begins regular season play Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Carrier Dome against Fordham University. The Orange look to start the 2011-2012 season with a bang against a Rams squad that only won seven games last year. 

The last time these two met in 2007, Syracuse easily handled Fordham, 80-63, thanks to then-freshmen Donte Green and Eric Devendorf. Though the players have changed, the style of play remains the same. 

Syracuse completed its two-game exhibition schedule this week, with wins against the Cal State-LA Golden Eagles and the College of St. Rose Golden Knights. Senior guard Kris Joseph and sophomore center Fab Melo lead the team in scoring over the two games with 11.5 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. But more importantly, Syracuse proved the depth coach Jim Boeheim raved about during the offseason was fact rather than speculation. Although they played two non-Division-I teams, Syracuse had multiple players who scored over 8 points in each game.

Last year, it was the Kris Joseph and Rick Jackson show for the Orange. This year, fifth-year senior guard Scoop Jardine and junior guard Brandon Triche, who both look to pick up from their great numbers last year, hope to fill the offensive void left by Jackson. More importantly, the emergence of Melo and fellow sophomore center Baye Mousa Keita will compensate for the lack of last year’s Big East Defensive Player of the Year in Jackson. 

Syracuse will have forwards C.J. Fair and James Southerland to add to their depth, as well as bringing in freshman Michael Carter-Williams and Rakeem Christmas

Rams junior forward Chris Gaston will give the Orange the most problems Saturday, as he was the leading scorer for Fordham over the past two seasons. Shifty guards Alberto Estwick and Branden Frazier will feed Gaston, who averages 17 points per game thus far in his Fordham career. 

Like St. Rose, Fordham doesn’t offer any real problems for the Orange in the paint, as the Rams tallest player is 6-foot-10-inch forward Kervin Bristol, who averaged 6.8 rebounds per game last season. With 7-foot centers Melo and Keita, Syracuse should dominate the boards. 

Although Saturday makes the beginning of the season for Syracuse, the Orange hope it will turn out much like their two exhibition matches with a defeat of the Rams.

Men's soccer drops another

Two Louis Clark goals in the first half were not enough to upset No. 11 USF as the Orange fall in overtime, 3-2.

After leading University of South Florida 2-0 at halftime, the Syracuse University men’s soccer gave up two late goals and eventually lost in overtime to the Bulls, 3-2, Saturday night at the SU Soccer Stadium. USF junior Dom Dwyer scored the game-winner four minutes into extra time.

“Unfortunately right at the end we made a mistake,” SU coach Ian McIntrye said.

Forty-five minutes into the game, it looked as though Syracuse (2-9-1, 0-4-1) was going to pull out the biggest upset of their season against No. 11 USF (9-2-2, 4-0-1). Junior Louis Clark scored two goals in the 18th and 27th minute off a corner kick by senior captain Nick Roydhouse and a pass from junior Ted Cribley, respectively. 

“Today we got the start we wanted,” Roydhouse said. “We got the early lead. We were up by two.”

Not only was the offense clicking, but the defense was shutting down a very potent USF offense. Dwyer, the best statistical player on the Bulls squad as well as an early candidate for Big East player of the year, was completely shut down during the second half. 

“In the first half he had nothing, he didn’t have a sniff,” senior goalkeeper Phil Boerger said. “I think it was because we had jumped out on top of him right away.”

The entire back line, especially freshman Ryan Tessler, smothered the Bulls offense, holding them to only four shots in the first half. However, as the rain started to come down more and more after halftime, Syracuse began to take their foot off the pedal and let USF start coming back.

“We thought they would go into a shell,” Boerger said. “But they came out guns blazing.”

USF began rattling shots off and possessing the ball more than Syracuse early on in the second half.  While Boerger and the SU defense held strong against the Bulls for the majority of the half, the field began to deteriorate the luck of the Orange would soon run out. 

“Our whole game plan changed,” Louis Clark said. “Instead of trying to play we just tried to defend.” 

However, the defense broke down at the end of the game after holding up against USF. In the 78th minute, the Bulls caught a break when junior Nick Bibbs fouled Dwyer in the box. Dwyer and the Bulls were awarded a penalty kick, leading to a goal and cutting the SU lead to 2-1. Then, with less than two minutes left in regulation, freshman Roberto Alterio collected a failed clear by the Orange and put the ball past the net to tie the game at 2-2.

“Anyone in sports will tell you in that there are momentum shifts,” McIntyre said. “And when a team ties it up so late in the game it’s going to shift the momentum. “

 

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Men's soccer winless in last 7

Syracuse men's soccer team unable to overcome sluggish first half, losing to No. 21 St. John's, 2-1.

When it rains, it pours, especially if you’re the Syracuse University men’s soccer team. After a poor first half, Syracuse (2-8-1, 0-3-1) was unable to come back and eventually fell to intrastate and Big East rival No. 21 St. John’s (8-3-2, 2-2-0) Wednesday night at SU Stadium, 2-1

“We were soft,” sophomore Ryan Tessler said. “They were just beating us everywhere.”

In a game that featured slick conditions and constant rain, SU could not do anything offensively, only getting three shots off after 45 minutes. Overall, Syracuse’s offensive cohesiveness was suspect in the first half. Passes weren’t connecting and players seemed lost on offense.

“We panicked a little bit in the first half,” senior captain Nick Roydhouse said. “We didn’t get the ball under control and we tried to force some things.”

On defense in the first half, Syracuse was constantly on their heels trying to stop an offensive onslaught by the Red Storm. St. John’s was able to get off nine shots on senior goalkeeper Phil Boerger. A cross from redshirt sophomore Adrian L’Esperance was put in by junior Andre Vargas in the 36th minute to put the Red Storm ahead 1-0 going into halftime.

“Going into a game like that, we knew St. Johns was going to come out 100 mph right away,” Boerger said. “We didn’t play well enough in the first half to deal with that.”

However, the second half featured a different Syracuse team. SU came out with more intensity and doubled the amount of shots they had in the first half. 

“When we stepped forward and imposed ourselves and matched them, then I felt we got ourselves back on top and really built up a head of steam that culminated in a goal,” Syracuse coach Ian McIntrye said. 

That goal came off a free kick by Roydhouse in the 80th minute. After a St. John’s penalty, the senior captain rocketed the equalizer past Red Storm sophomore goalkeeper Rafael Diaz, tying the game up at 1-1.  

“At that point I thought we were going to win the game,” McIntrye said.

Syracuse was unable to celebrate their goal for long, though, as the Red Storm responded with the eventual game-wining goal in 83rd minute. After three corner kicks, the Red Storm finally scored off a shot by L’Esperance, putting St. John’s up 2-1.

While The Orange was unable to come back and win, McIntrye was still impressed with his team’s ability to come alive in the second half after a poor first.

“We’ve should a tremendous amount of character this year in responding and coming back when we’ve been behind,” McIntrye said. “The next step is now going on and winning one of those games.”

Syracuse looks to win its first home game against a Big East opponent when the squad hosts No. 11 South Florida (7-2-2, 2-0-1) at the SU Soccer Stadium Saturday. 

 

SU soccer continues 4-game skid

The Syracuse men's soccer team fails to find a rhythm on offense, falling to Binghamton at home, 2-1.

In a defensive grudge match that didn’t feature a goal until well into the second half, Binghamton (4-5-0, 0-0-0) defeated the Syracuse men’s soccer team (2-6-0, 0-0-0) Tuesday, 2-1. SU’s offense did not tally a score until the 89th minute when senior Dan Summers scored the first goal of his Syracuse career. 

“Nothing was quite clicking tonight,” Summers said.

Both teams were stuck in a defensive battle throughout the game, which included two nullified goals and only four combined shots after the first 25 minutes. Neither team stood out, but Syracuse’s offensive was surprisingly flat after such a prolific performance only three days before playing Marquette. 

“We just weren’t shooting, “ senior captain Nick Roydhouse said. “We were in the position but we were trying to make one more pass rather than taking the shot.”

Roydhouse attempted to make a cross to either junior Lars Muller or Summers multiple times, but neither were able to a get a good look at the goal or get off a decent shot. Roydhouse had an great look off a free kick in the 71st minute, but the ball bounced off the top crossbar just inches from the net. 

“We didn’t come out quick like we have been in the past,” senior goalkeeper Phil Boerger said, “And it showed in the whole game.”

Boerger finished the game with only three saves, but was unable to rally his defense after a shut-out in the first half.

“In the first half we did okay defensively,” Boerger said. “But in the second half we just had a couple breakdowns.”

Those breakdowns coincided with Binghamton's two goals in the second half. The first came in the 54th minute when Jerome Robinson scored off Jake Keegan’s cross, and the second in the 74th minute when sophomore Luke Halberg scored off a pass from freshman Steven Celeste.  

The first real sign of offensive chemistry for the Orange came late in the game at the 89th minute. Freshman Nick Perea ran down the field, avoiding defenders before making a nice pass to Muller. Muller crossed to Summers who rocketed a shot past the Bearcats goalkeeper to bring SU within one. Summers was then able to get another decent look at the goal with seconds remaining on the clock, but couldn't come up with the equalizer at the buzzer. 

“It’s not about the prettiest soccer,” SU coach Ian McIntrye said. “It’s not about who has the most technical players. It’s about hunger, passion, and I think we were second best tonight.”

Syracuse hopes to regain their composure on the road against Big East rival Pittsburgh (2-6-1, 0-1-0) on Saturday. 

 

(Image courtesy of Stock.XCHNG)

 

Syracuse men's soccer loses Big East opener

SU allows a goal late to fall to Marquette, 3-2.

 

It was a close match, but with two minutes to go in regulation, Marquette (3-4-1, 1-0-0) finally broke free with a game-winning score to defeat the Syracuse men’s soccer team (2-5-0, 0-1-0) in its Big East home opener Saturday at the SU Soccer Stadium. Freshman James Nortey scored the goal, his second of the night, in the 88th minute to secure the win for the Golden Eagles.  

“It’s the best my team’s played in awhile,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “And if we continue to keep playing like that, the winning will take care of itself.” Right from the start, Syracuse sent a barrage of shots at Marquette goalkeeper David Check, who finished the night with a career-high 12 saves. Then, in the 22nd minute, junior Mark Brode picked up a deflected ball, dribbled, and fired a shot toward the top left had corner of the box for his first goal of the year. Check mishandled the shot, giving SU a 1-0 lead. 

“In the first 15 minutes we battered them pretty good,” Brode said. “I felt like I was getting a lot of opportunities this game.”

The Golden Eagles responded quickly with a goal in the 18th minut as Nortey headed in his first of night off a cross from senior Calum Mallace.  

After starting out with such fire, the Orange went into halftime looking a little deflated, but recouped nicely after the break. The Orange started the second half with great movement in enemy territory, which eventually lead to junior Lars Muller’s first career goal off a corner kick from Nick Roydhouse in the 52nd minute to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead. 

“I’m happy to have my first goal, but I’m really frustrated that we didn’t win the game,” Muller said. “I’m frustrated that we lost because we were the better team.”

The Orange continued to show impressive ball movement after goal, but couldn’t convert on any opportunities. Then in the 66th minute, Marquette junior Chris Madsen deflated Syracuse’s defense with the equalizing score. 

The tie held until the 88th minute when Nortey broke free from a cluster in front of the SU net to score his second goal of the night past SU senior goalkeeper Phil Boerger.

Although he allowed three goals, Boerger had a career-night with nine saves.

“Overall we did okay defensively,” Boerger said. “We can do better, and obviously we gave up three goals, that’s not good enough to win in the Big East.”

Trailing for the first time of the night, the Orange rushed in the final two minutes to find the game-tying score, but could not mount a comeback. 

With only two minutes remaining in regulation, SU looked for its first game-tying goal of the night. The Orange never got a good look at the goal until six seconds left in regulation, when Syracuse was awarded a free kick on the bottom-left side of the goal. Roydhouse took the kick and attempted to pass the ball up to the top of the key, but Marquette was able to jump in front of the pass and ruin any chance of a late SU comeback.

“You don’t normally see that with a few seconds left,” McIntyre said, “Roydhouse tried to change the angle, but their forwards did well and made a last-ditch save. It was an exciting climax at the end of the game.”

Syracuse finished the night with a 25-20 shot advantage over the Golden Eagles, but it wasn’t enough to win. 

“I think we had a lot of chances that we should have put away,” Brode said.

The Orange hope to rebound Tuesday as it hosts Binghamton at SU Soccer Stadium. 

 

 

Orange Track & Field performs well in final tuneup for Big East Championships

The Syracuse track and field team traveled to Cornell for the second straight week in a final tuneup for the upcoming Big East Championships. Senior Kwaku Boah had a good day in the field events for the Orange.

For the second straight weekend, the Syracuse University track and field team competed at Cornell University. Similarly, for the second straight weekend, senior thrower Kwaku Boah torched the competition.

Boah competed in his signature events – the hammer throw and shot put – placing in the top five in each. In the hammer throw, Boah took home the title with a toss of 53.73 meters. As for shot put, Boah placed third with a throw of 14.52 meters.

Other SU individual champions, included Justin Murray took first in the men’s 1500-meter run with a time of 3:58. Three other Syracuse runners also competed in the event. Greg Manning-Smith (sixth), Brady Becker (16th) and Zach Rivers (18th) finished the race in times of 4:01, 4:10, and 4:13, respectively.

In the women’s race, Alexandra Clinton was the only runner for SU. She finished 18th with a time of 5:02.

Kelly Anne McCarthy and Tyler McCully competed in the 400-meter dash. McCarthy took 12th in the women’s race with a time of 1:02, while McCully finished 16th in 51.98.

In the men’s 800-meter run, four of the five Syracuse runners finished within one second of each other. Erin Schirm (17th) finished first for the Orange with a time of 1:57.58, with Nat Saviet (18th), Nik Hannson (19th) and Ryan Ellis right behind with times of 1:57.61, 1:57.78 and 1:58, respectively. Matt Bennett also competed, placing 30th.

Only one Syracuse runner competed in the women’s race. Abigail Decker took 11th with a time of 2:22.

In the men’s 200-meter dash, McCully finished 12th in 22.55 while Michael Tichenor finished 28th in 23.80. Tichenor also competed in the men’s 100-meter dash, taking 19th with a time of 11.48.

Evan Stivala and Nick Damato continued Syracuse’s success at Cornell in the field. Damato took sixth in the javelin throw with a heave of 45.12 meters, while Stivala finished fourth in the high jump with a leap of 1.89 meters.

In women’s pole vault, Tara Brenner came in seventh, while Danielle Sherwood came in eighth with tosses of 3.15 and 3.00 meters, respectively.

Aubree Mercure competed in women’s long jump to round out competition for SU. She had a leap of 4.78 meters and placed 16th in the event.

Next weekend, Syracuse travels to Villanova for the Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Orange will field 38 athletes at the event.

Track and field has good showing at Cornell, Princeton

The Syracuse track and field team competed in multiple competitions this past weekend, performing well in both. Multiple Orange athletes qualified for the Big East championships, as well as other post-season competitions.

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.

Track and field teams struggle down south

Orange struggles with intense competition in Auburn, Texas and Chapel Hill, N.C.

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. Her leap of 12.33m in the women’s triple jump was enough for a 5th place finish in the event.

Donald Pollitt and Matthew Callanan 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 and Frank Taylor 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 (26th) was the first finisher for the ‘Cuse, with a time of 24.59. Lareea Chisholm (43rd) crossed the finish line next in 25.18. Amber Passalaqua (59th), Kelsey Rubeor (60th), and Sa’De Lewis (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 (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, White, Victor Nwosu, 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 took 4th in the women’s 1,500-meter run as the lone SU runner in the event.

Robert Molke 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 had a best showing in the event for the Orange, finishing 7th with a time of 3.44. Joseph Bubniak (20th) and Andrew Nelson (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.

SU track and field fairs well at Cornell, falters at ASU

Majority of competitors for the Orange finished within the top 25 in all events at Cornell Spring Invitational, struggle at Arizona.

The majority of the Syracuse University men and women’s track and field team participated in the Cornell Spring Invitational this weekend, while three Orange competitors went to Tempe, Arizona, for the Sun Angel Classic at Arizona State University.

At Cornell, SU put on an impressive showing, as the majority of competitors for the Orange finished within the top 25 in all events.

In the second event of the day, Syracuse dominated the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, taking places 1 through 5. Leading the way was Katie Hursey, whose time of 10:27 propelled her to a first place finish, one of two on the day for Syracuse. Right behind Hursey were four more SU runners. Cassie White (2nd) and Natalie Busby (3rd) finished in times of 10:32 and 10:34, respectively, while Erin Cawley (4th) and Carly Hamond (5th) crossed the finished lines in 11:03 and 11:07, respectively.

Eight Syracuse men competed in the 1,500-meter run, continuing SU’s strong performance on the track. Justin Murray finished 5th for the ‘Cuse in a time of 3:57, while Greg Manning-Smith came in soon after in 4:01 for 6th. Nat Saviet (8th) and Patrick Geoghegan (10th) rounded out the top-10 with almost identical times of 4:02.05 and 4:02.52, respectively. Erin Schirm barely missed a top finish, falling behind Geoghegan by two-tenths of a second for an 11th place finish in 4:02.54. 

In the women’s race, Lauren Kersjes was the only runner for the Orange in the 1,500-meter. She had a fine race though, finishing 4th in a time of 4:42.

SU struggled in the men’s 800-meter run that featured Andrew Nelson, Nik Hansson, and Ryan Ellis. Nelson finished 14th in 1:56, followed by Hansson (17th) in 1:57 and Ellis (21st) in 1:58.

The women faired only a little better in the same event. Michelle Riley had a good showing, finishing 4th in a time of 2:13. Behind her was Abigail Decker (12th), Kelly McCarthy (19th) and Roseda Lo (22nd), who finished in 2:21, 2:29 and 2:32, respectively.

In the women’s 3,000-meter run, the only SU competitors finished right behind each other. Alexandra Clinton (7th) and Julie Jablonski (8th) crossed the finish line in times of 10:09 and 10:16, respectively.

Brady Becker was the second Syracuse runner to finish first at Cornell, as he dominated in the men’s 5,000-meter with a time of 15:28.

Tyler McCully, one of SU’s dual-event competitors on Saturday, had a decent day in the 400 and 200-meter dashes. McCully finished 8th in the 400-meter in 10.66, while receiving a 13th place finished in the 200-meter with a time of 23.00.

Serenity Martin and Erica Belanger also competed in multiple events. Martin finished 2nd in the women’s 100-meter dash in 12:91, while Belanger finished 15th in preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles in 19.25. Both runners competed in the 200-meter dash. Martin finished 10th in 27.04 and Belanger finished 24th in 29.84.

Belanger also competed in the long jump, finishing 13th with a leap of 4.8m. Aubree Mercure also took part in the event, jumping 4.58m to a 16th-place finish. Mercure was also featured in the triple jump, finishing 11th with a leap of 10.02m

In the men’s long jump, Will Watson leapt 6.63m for 12th place, while Evan Stivala jumped 6.17m for 16th. Stivala also competed in the high jump, finishing 4th with a leap of 1.84m.

Nick Damato was the only SU competitor to participate in the javelin throw, finishing 9th with a toss of 42.64m.

Syracuse has two more events next weekend. The Auburn War Eagle Invitiational in Auburn, Alabama is a two-day even on April 15 and 16 and the Kent Taylor-Joe Hilton Carolina Invitational at Chapel Hill begins at 10:30 a.m. on April 16.

 

Track and Field enjoys some outdoor action

Syracuse track and field enjoyed some fun in the sun this weekend at the Princeton Sam Howell Invitational. The Orange had a good showing in what was most of the team's first outdoor event of the season.

The SU track and field teams participated in the Princeton Sam Howell Invitational this past weekend. For many members of the Orange squad, the Princeton Invite marked the first outdoor competition in the 2011 season.

Friday, the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase featured a strong performance by the Orange. Heather Stephens lead the way, finishing 1st overall in 10:26. Rebekah Mackay was right behind her, crossing the finish line in 10:42 for a 3rd place finish. Erin Cawley (9th) and Carly Hamond (10th) rounded out the top-10 for the Orange, finishing with times of 11:08 and 11:09, respectively.

In the first session of the men’s 1,500-meter run, Syracuse runners struggled in an event that separated the first and last place finishers by only 22 seconds. Joseph Bubniak (13th) finished with a time of 3:54, while Corey Robinson (20th) ran in 3:56 and Andrew Nelson (23rd) finished in 3:57.

The men’s 5,000-meter run featured 85 competitors, with eight SU runners. Steven Weeks led the Orange in the event with a time of 14:47 and a 17th place finish. Next in line for the ‘Cuse was Patrick Geoghegan (14:51, 22nd), Justin Murray (14.54, 27th), Connor Stauffer (15:04, 41st), Jon Squeri (15:07, 46th), Zach Rivers (15:12.04, 52nd), Steve Murdock (15:12.13, 53rd), and David Wilson (15:41, 79th).

Two SU women rounded out competition for the Orange Friday in the women’s 5,000-meter run. Julie Jablonksi finished 8th with a time of 17:23, while Alexandra Clinton finished 23rd in 17:56.

Saturday, SU competitors participated in 13 events.

In the second session of the men’s 1,500-meter run, Greg Manning-Smith faired well, finishing 4th with a time of 4:01. Matt Bennett, the only other SU runner in the event, finished 28th in 4:09.

Kelly Anne McCarthy, the lone runner for SU in the women’s 400-meter dash, finished 27th with a time of 1:01. In the men’s 400-meter dash, Tyler McCully crossed the finish line in 51.65 seconds to finished 26th.

The women’s 100-meter dash featured one SU woman in the finals. Serenity Martin finished 18th in 13.42. Her teammate, Lareea Chisholm, ran 12:08 in her seeding, but was scratched for the finals. In the women’s 800-meter run, Michelle Riley finished strong in 7th place with a time of 2:14.

Field veteran Kwaku Boah competed in two events: the men’s hammer throw and the men’s shot. In the hammer throw, Boah came in 15th with a toss of 46.06 meters. Boah had a better showing in the shot put, finishing in 5th with his toss of 15.12 meters.

In the women’s high jump, Erica Belanger finished 9th with a leap of 1.55 meters. Belanger also competed in the long jump, finishing 22nd with a bound of 4.16 meters.

For the men, Evan Stivala earned a 7th place finish in the high jump, while finishing 11th in the long jump with a leap of 5.92 meters, behind teammate Will Watson. Watson finished 6th with a 6.41 meter jump.

In the javelin throw, Mark Melilli finished 3rd with a toss of 57.15 meters. Teammate Nick Damato was right behind him with a hurl of 53.07 and 5th place finish.

Women’s pole vault rounded out competition for the Orange this weekend, as Tara Brenner (12th), Leah Testa (15th), and Danielle Sherwood (19th) had tosses of 3.25, 3.10, and 2.95 meters, respectively.

Next weekend, SU will split up its team, sending some competitors to Tempe, Ariz. for the Arizona State University Sun Angel Invite and others to Ithaca, N.Y. for the Cornell Spring Invite.