Track & Field Splits Between Princeton and Virginia This Weekend
4/22/2016 10:15:00 AM | Track and Field
Virginia Challenge: Entries | Live Results
Larry Ellis Invitational: Homepage | Watch ILDN | Watch FloTrack | Live Results
NEW YORK – The Columbia track & field teams will split their time between two different meets this weekend, as the Lions will head to both the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton, as well as the University of Virginia Challenge.
The pair of meets will give Columbia a fair gauge on the outdoor season, as the Penn Relays will begin next Thursday, April 28, a week out in front of the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.
The Virginia Challenge - Charlottesville, Virginia
On Friday at noon, the Virginia Challenge gets under way, concluding Saturday evening.
In the women's 800m run, two Lions are hoping to get closer to an NCAA Regional qualifying time, as Sarah Hardie and Brittney Wade have both impressed this season. Hardie recently ran 2:08.46 at the Virginia Quad, while Wade went 2:09.26 at the Colonial Relays, but boasts a career best of 2:07.78.
The 1500m run will feature a senior and a rookie from Columbia who have paced each other all season long. Olivia Sadler and Libby Kokes will run in different heats, but are both among the top 1500m runners in the country. Sadler has the second fastest time in school history at 4:18.36, with a season best of 4:22.89, while Kokes will try to improve on her season best of 4:23.37.
The women will also feature Natalie Tanner and Pegah Khosravi-Kamrani in the 5K run.
Columbia's men's squad will also be heavy in the middle distance events, as Sam Ritz, Josiah Langstaff, and Alek Sauer will compete in the 800m run, with Robert Napolitano, Spencer Haik, and Benjamin Ritz running in the 1500m.
At the Virginia Quad, Sauer impressed when the first-year busted out a 1:49.77 in the 800m run. His classmates Langstaff and Sam Ritz will join him this weekend, as Langstaff has already gone 1:51.82 in the indoor season, with Ritz taking part in the outdoor season for the first time.
The best 1500m runner on Columbia's squad will try out the event for the second time this spring, as Napolitano went 3:46.39 to take second at the Colonial Relays. Haik also ran in the same event at that meet, clocking a 3:56.80, while Benjamin Ritz has a 3:46.31 to his name from a season ago.
Three members of the Ivy League Championship cross country team will test out the 5K, when Marc Violone, Jack Boyle, and Brian Zabilski take off at Virginia.
Larry Ellis Invitational - Princeton, New Jersey
Field events during the Larry Ellis Invitational will have a 2 pm start time on Friday, with distance events taking place later in the evening. The Saturday portion of the meet will run all day, with a variety of sprint, hurdle and relay events, with coverage available on the Ivy League Digital Network and FloTrack.
Shalon Conley, Ashley Cunningham, and Aminat Iriafen will double-up in the 100m and 200m dash, with Iris Chijioke ready to compete in the 200m dash and 100m hurdles.
Several men are scheduled to run in multiple events, such as Bryan Browne in the 100m and 200m, Yelnats Calvin in the 200m and 400m, and a combination of those two in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Players Mentioned
