Track & Field Opens Outdoors With Pair of Meets
3/22/2017 2:29:00 PM | Track and Field
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Penn Challenge: Schedule | Live Results
NEW YORK - The Columbia track & field teams open up the outdoor season with a pair of meets this weekend.
The Lions will send a split squad to the Stony Brook Quad Meet, which begins at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, before other athletes compete at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State on Friday, before the Penn Challenge takes the stage on Saturday. The Raleigh Relays can be see live, with portions of both days on ESPN3.
Most recently, Columbia took part in the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Boston, posting several top finishes along the way.
Junior Akua Obeng-Akrofi put forth a personal best effort in the indoor 200m, clocking a 23.92 second time, which was good enough to edge second place Bria Sanders from Rutgers. The win for Obeng-Akrofi added on to her impressive output the weekend before at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, when she won the 400m run in 54.10, and finished third in the 200m run at 24.13.
Obeng-Akrofi was one of four individual champions at Heps for the women, who also saw Henna Rustami win the 3,000m run (9:34.66), Anna Williams win the triple jump (12.99m/42'7.5”) and Sarah Hardie claim her third consecutive title in the 1,000m (2:49.28).
The men's team had an impressive showing from Daniel Igbokwe in the triple jump, when the rookie improved on his school record at the IC4A/ECAC meet. Igbokwe posted a 15.17m (49'9.25”) mark in Boston, claiming sixth place along the way.
The prior weekend at Heps, the men's middle distance squad was impressive, led by Alek Sauer, who earned a relay and an individual championship.
Sauer started his Sunday by overtaking three of the race leaders in the final 50 meters to win a championship in the 1,000m run with a time of 2:24.96. The sophomore went on to help Columbia with a relay title in the 4x800m, as Josiah Langstaff, Sam Ritz and Robert Napolitano joined him on the medal stand in first.
Players Mentioned
