Columbia Wins Nine Events At Metro Season Opener

Saturday, December 1

Staten Island, N.Y.

4:00 PM

Columbia

Metro Season Opener

Columbia Wins Nine Events At Metro Season Opener

12/1/2018 11:06:00 PM | Track and Field

Results 2018-19 Schedule 2018-19 Roster

The first meet of the indoor season was an impressive one for the Columbia track & field teams.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The men and women of the Columbia track & field team combined for nine victories today at the Metro Season Opener at the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Complex in Staten Island.

Men's Recap
The middle distance events had an impressive day for the Columbia men, with three of the five total event wins coming from that group.

Alek Sauer and Solomon Fountain went 1-2 in the 1 Mile run, with Sauer taking the tape. The senior clocked a 4:15.79 in his first individual event this winter, besting Fountain's 4:18.43.

Another 1-2 performance came in the 1,000m, behind Jackson Storey and Willie Hall. The win went to Storey, who finished in 2:30.59, while Hall wasn't far behind in 2:31.08. In the 4x800m relay, those two combined with Sauer and Jacob Caswell to place first in 7:40.49.

In the 3,000m run, the Lions finished 1-2-3, as Owen Bishop, Aaron Breene, and Ajax Diamandis were the first trio to cross the line. Bishop won the race in 8:45.54, followed by Breen at 8:45.96, and Diamandis in 8:48.63.

The other win on the day went to Daniel Igbokwe, who was strong in the triple jump. On his second attempt, the junior posted a 14.71m (48-3) effort, helping him narrowly top Rider's Allen Killiebrew, who was second in 14.70m.

Other notable performances on the field side included Tiber Seirreni taking second with a 4.65m clear in the pole vault, Hunter Hasley claiming third with a 15.25m effort in the weight throw, Noah Johnson going fifth in the shot put at 12.53m, ahead of teammate Jack Pihlkar in seventh at 12.40m

Women's Recap
Much like the men, two of four victories on the day for the Columbia women came from the strong middle distance group.

The mile was claimed by Bianca Alonzo, who's 5:07.63 edged second place Mackenzie Greenfield from Rider with a 5:07.74 effort. The 1K also was a Columbia win, when Terri Turner (2:54.23) topped teammate Jill Murray, who was second in 2:54.73.

Later on, Turner helped Sydney Groom, Betty Jackson, and Carlita Taylor pick up a win in the 4x400m, as the quartet finished in 3:48.59.

Meanwhile in the 60m hurdles, a slew of Columbia women finished near the top, as the first five places went to the Lions. Lauren Micham was the first to cross the line, finishing in 8.58 for the fourth fastest time in program history. The runner-up was Taylor, who had a strong showing with an 8.79, but had an 8.56 in the prelims for the third best time in school history. Behind Taylor, Simone Kirton finished third, Madelyn Sessler was fourth, and Alexis Turley-Young claimed fifth.

On the field side, Grace Campbell picked up a win in her first event of the winter. The sophomore won the high jump with fewer total misses than Victoria Major from Adelphi, as both cleared 1.65m (5-5), and were unable to get over 1.70m (5-7).

Also impressing in the first meet of the season was Kali Hatcher, who was second overall and first among collegiate competitors in the triple jump (11.77m / 38-7.5) and fifth in the long jump (5.33m / 17-5.75), while Iman Sule was third in the 500m run at 1:15.93, and also first among the collegiate athletes.

Columbia is back in action next weekend, as a few athletes are scheduled to compete at the Yale Season Opener on Saturday.