Igbokwe Wins The TJ Highlighting Columbia's Day At The Dr. Sander Invite

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/David Collins

Igbokwe Wins The TJ Highlighting Columbia's Day At The Dr. Sander Invite

1/24/2020 5:26:00 PM | Track and Field

Columbia Results Photo Gallery Tickets (Saturday)

The women's DMR team finished second, while setting a school record time of 11:18.20.

NEW YORK – Senior Daniel Igbokwe's final attempt mark of 50-10.25/15.50m won him the triple jump, while senior Katie Wasserman's strong final leg in the Distance Medley Relay helped set a school record in a solid first day for Columbia Track & Field at the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge on Friday, Jan. 24 at The Armory.

Wasserman's final leg was set up by seniors Bianca Alonzo and Iman Sule, along with junior Terri Turner's strong opening legs as the Lions finished second in the DMR with a school record time of 11:18.20.

"The Columbia Challenge is our first big meet of the season, so we still do not know where everyone quite is," said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, Middle Distance & Distance Daniel Ireland. "But for Daniel [Igbokwe] to come back on his final jump, when he was not winning at the time, and win the event is exactly what we preach, to compete.

"He was not concerned about how far he would jump, he just wanted to win, and on the last jump he brought it and he won. That is exactly what we want our student-athletes to do, win events. If you put yourself in position to win events, you will in turn solid marks and that is exactly what Igbokwe did.

"As for our women's DMR squad, we missed that school record a few times since I have been here so to get it today was great. Katie [Wasserman] did an excellent job on the final leg, but it took all three of the women ahead of her to put the team in position to set the school record."

HOW IT HAPPENED (MEN'S EVENTS): Columbia's best finish of the day came in the triple jump, with Igbokwe's final jump of 15.50m locking up his first-place finish. Igbokwe went to the start of his final jump knowing he had to best 15.43m, set in Malik Cunningham of Villanova's final jump, and Igbokwe dialed in to pass Cunningham on his final attempt to take home the title.

Daniel Igbokwe jumps a mark of 1️⃣5️⃣.5️⃣0️⃣m on his final attempt to take the 🏆 in the triple jump. 😤😤

👉 1️⃣5️⃣.5️⃣0️⃣m (1️⃣st)
📊 https://t.co/8e3w5rJfSn #RoarLionRoar pic.twitter.com/1aoKW9nnWN
— Columbia Lions XC/TF (@ColumbiaXCTF) January 24, 2020

On the track, Columbia's DMR squad of juniors Aaron Breene, Jackson Storey and Owen Bishop, along with sophomore Brodie Holmes ran a time of 10:02.45 to finish fifth overall, locking up a top five finish for the Lions. In the shot put junior Noah Johnson tossed a season-best mark of 48-4.75/14.75m to finish 18th overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED (WOMEN'S EVENTS): The opening leg of the DMR was run by Alonzo and her strong stretch of 3:29.58 got the Lions off to a solid start. The pace was kept up by Sule's 56.15 and continued by Turner's 2:10.84 in the third leg, and when she passed along the baton to Wasserman the time was at 6:36.58. From that point, Wasserman took off with a fierce look in her eye, and the Lions senior flew around the track, pushing Columbia into second place and her 4:41.60 final leg locked up a second-place finish with the 11:18.20 school record time.

🚨 SCHOOL RECORD 🚨

Powered 💪 by a strong final leg by Wasserman, Columbia's DMR squad set a new school record. 😤👏

⌚️ 11:18.20 (2️⃣nd)#RoarLionRoar pic.twitter.com/xqhooxF7mf
— Columbia Lions XC/TF (@ColumbiaXCTF) January 24, 2020

In the long jump, first-year Tiffany Bautista gave the Columbia women the best finish in the field, with her 15th place finish mark of 17-11.50/5.47m. Senior Maryam Hassan joined Bautista inside the top 20 with a mark of 17-9.50/5.42m to finish 19th overall, giving Columbia a pair of top 20 finishers in the long jump.

DAY TWO: Columbia will again send a handful of student-athletes to The Armory for the third day of the Dr. Sander Invite, with Columbia's day beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the women's weight throw. Tickets for the day can be purchased by heading here.

DR. SANDER INVITATIONAL COLUMBIA CHALLENGE (DAY TWO)
New York, N.Y. (The Armory)

Women's Multievents (Jan. 23)
Pentathlon: (Madeline Holmberg, Penn State, 4,171) 9. Madelyn Sessler, 3,244

Men's Track Events:
60-Meter Dash (Prelims): (1. Kenroy Higgins, UCLA, 6.72Q) 15. Jahi Hernandez, 6.99; 24. Dante Miller, 7.04; 30. Chris Balthazar, 7.07; 38. Karibi Hart, 7.29
60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims): (1. Samuel Bennet, Harvard, 8.06Q) 21. Moe Abusway, 8.98
Distance Medley Relay: (1. (A) Van Der Els, Woodman, Gleen, Brackman, UCONN, 9:51.09) 5. (A) Aaron Breene, Brodie Holmes, Jackson Storey, Owen Bishop, 10:02.45

Men's Field Events:
Triple Jump: 1. Daniel Igbokwe, 50-10.25/15.50m
Shot Put: (1. Ben Peterson, Penn State, 60-9.25/18.52m) 18. Noah Johnson, 48-4.75/14.75m; 22. Matt Lange, 40-9.75/12.44m

Women's Track Events:
60-Meter Dash (Prelims): (1. Anavia Battle, Ohio State, 7.37Q) 32. Tessa Green, 7.82; 42. Rachel Marsh, 7.99
60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims): (1. Destinee Rocker, South Carolina, 8.39Q) 20. Lauren Micham, 8.75
Distance Medley Relay: (1. (A) Torino, Simmons, Aveni, Reinhart, Duke, 11:15.47) 2. (A) Bianca Alonzo, Iman Sule, Terri Turner, Katie Wasserman, 11:18.20

Women's Field Events:
Long Jump: (1. Lauryn Harris, Penn, 19-7.50/5.98) 15. Tiffany Bautista, 17-11.50/5.47m; 19. Maryam Hassan, 17-9.50/5.42m
Shot Put: (1. Alyssa Wilson, UCLA, 57-00.75/17.39m) 29. Hailey Montgomery, 36-2.75/11.04m; 30. Cameron Downey, 35-5.75/10.81m

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