Three Lions Advance To Quarters, After Day One Of The NCAA East Prelims

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics

Three Lions Advance To Quarters, After Day One Of The NCAA East Prelims

5/23/2019 9:47:00 PM | Track and Field

Day One Results (PDF)Live Results Schedule Of Events (PDF)

Alek Sauer, Sam Ritz and Katie Wasserman each finished with qualifying times in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter run.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Alek Sauer was moving in the 800-meter run, finishing first, with a time of 1:49.03, to qualify for the quarterfinals, as Columbia Track and Field had three, including Sauer, student-athletes qualify and advance to the next round, on the first day of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Eastern Region Preliminaries at Hodges Stadium.

Win heat ✔️
Qualify for the 800m quarters ✔️
Run a 1️⃣st place time of 1:49.03 ✔️

Alek Sauer was moving 💨 at the @NCAATrackField East Prelims. 😤#RoarLionRoar pic.twitter.com/zAh3fx1yIG
— Columbia Lions XC/TF (@ColumbiaXCTF) May 24, 2019

Sauer was not alone in setting top performances on the day, as in the 1,500-meter run, Columbia's Sam Ritz and Katie Wasserman each finished with qualifying times. Ritz, who finished 13th overall in the race, recorded a time of 3:47.68, while Wasserman set a personal record, finishing with a time of 4:22.30 coming in 19th overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED (MEN'S TRACK EVENTS): Sauer set the best time of the day, winning his heat and finishing at the top the leaderboard, besting 48 other student-athletes across six heats. Josiah Langstaff, Jackson Storey and Solomon Rice also ran the 800-meter, with Langstaff finshing in 1:50.77, Storey finishing at 1:51.07 and Rice running a time of 1:51.71, all three marks placed the three Columbia men outside of the top 24 qualifying standard.

Columbia's other qualifying time for the men, came in the 1,500-meter with Ritz cruising to his best time at the East Prelims in his career, 3:47.68, finishing seventh in heat one and13th overall to earn the qualification to the quarterfinals round.

HOW IT HAPPENED (WOMEN'S TRACK EVENTS): Wasserman's PR set the tone for the Columbia women on the track, with her qualifying time of 4:22.30 in the 1,500-meter run placing her sixth in heat four and 19th overall and she will race in the quarterfinals. Annie Fanta ran in the 1,500-meter run as well, finishing with a time of 4:30.40 and in the 800-meter run Sydney Groom set a time of 2:08.65, and both of those times meant that the pair of Columbia women finished outside of the qualifying zone in each race.

In the final event of the night for Columbia, Abby McLaughlin, finished 38th in the 10,000-meter race finishing with a time of 36.01.97.

HOW IT HAPPENED (MEN'S FIELD EVENTS): In the lone field event competed by a Columbia student-athlete, Jack Pihlkar took part in the hammer throw. Pihlkar finished 23rd, recording a mark of 60.70m, and even though he failed to qualify, Pihlkar's mark placed him two spots higher than his seeding entering the weekend.

UP NEXT FOR THE LIONS: The second day of the East Prelims continues tomorrow, Friday, May 24, with Sauer competing for a chance to advance to Austin, Texas and the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships with the 800-meter run quarterfinals set to go at 6:45 p.m.

LINKS TO FOLLOW THE DAY TWO ACTION:
Watch Live ($)
Live Results
Schedule of Events (PDF)

COLUMBIA RESULTS

NCAA Division I Track and Field Eastern Region Preliminaries (Day One)
Jacksonville, Fla. (Hodges Stadium)

Men's Events (Track)
800-Meter Run: 1. Alek Sauer, 1:49.03Q; 28. Josiah Langstaff, 1:50.77; 36. Jackson Storey, 1:51.07; 40. Solomon Rice, 1:51.71
1,500-Meter Run: (1. Yared Nuguse, Notre Dame, 3:45.06Q) 13. Sam Ritz, 3:47.68q

Women's Events (Track)
800-Meter Run: (1. Nia Akins, Penn, 2:04.66Q) 37. Sydney Groom, 2:08.65
1,500-Meter Run: (1. Millie Paladino, Providence, 4:16.78Q) 19. Katie Wasserman, 4:22.30q; 37. Annie Fanta, 4:30.40
10,000-Meter Run: (1. Anna Rohrer, Notre Dame, 33:07.90Q) 38. Abby McLaughlin, 36.01.97

Men's Events (Field)
Hammer Throw: (1. Hilmar Orn Jonsson, Virginia, 236-9/72.17) 23. Jack Pihlkar, 199-2/60.70

FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Track and Field by following the Lions on Twitter (@ColumbiaXCTF), Instagram (@columbiaxctf) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).