Lions Prep For UAlbany Invite; Send Several To Two Other Meets

Friday, February 7

Staten Island, N.Y.

12:30 p.m.

Columbia

UAlbany Winter Classic

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Lions Prep For UAlbany Invite; Send Several To Two Other Meets

2/6/2020 11:43:00 AM | Track and Field

Live Stats (UAlbany)Live Stats (Millrose)Watch (Millrose)Live Stats (Camel City)Watch (Camel City)

Columbia Track & Field will compete in not only the UAlbany Winter Classic but at the Millrose Games and the Camel City Invite.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y./NEW YORK/WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – It is a busy weekend ahead for Columbia Track & Field as the Lions will have student-athletes heading to three different events, with the majority of the Lions heading to the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, on Friday, Feb. 7, for the UAlbany Winter Classic (12:30 p.m.), while a handful of Lions will head to The Armory for the 113th Millrose Games, starting on Thursday, Feb. 6 and finishing on Saturday, Feb. 8, and a pair of Lion women head south to the Camel City Invitational, on Friday, Feb. 7 to complete a busy and scattered weekend for Columbia.

HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW
UAlbany Winter Classic (Feb. 7): Live Stats | Twitter (@ColumbiaXCTF)
113th Millrose Games (Feb. 6-8): Live Stats | Watch (USATF.TV/NBC) | Twitter (@ColumbiaXCTF)
Camel City Invitational (Feb. 7): Live Stats | Watch (USATF.TV) | Twitter (@ColumbiaXCTF)

LIONS ALL OVER THE PLACE: With the goal of setting national championship qualifying marks, while also gaining valuable experience, Columbia will send student-athletes to three different events in three different locations. The majority of Columbia's student-athletes will head to Staten Island, New York for the UAlbany Winter Classic, with 25 women and 29 men competing at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.

As for the Millrose Games, the Lions will send junior Jack Pihlkar (weight throw), junior Gia Monachino (weight throw) and sophomore Hailey Montgomery (weight throw), along with both the men's and women's 4x400-Meter Relay squads, as they take the opportunity to compete in one of the more historic indoor track & field events in the country.

While at the Camel City Invitational, which fields a deep roster of professional runners, along with former and current World Champions and Olympians, senior Katie Wasserman (One-Mile Run) and junior Allie Hays (3,000-Meter Run) will each look to allow the high level of competition push them to a qualifying mark.

WANAMAKER LION: One of the more prestigious events at the Millrose Games is the headlining Wanamaker Mile, where some of the top runners in the nation compete in the race. This year, recent Columbia graduate, Robert Napolitano '17CC will take part in the race and he enters having already run a 3:59 mile at The Armory during the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge on Jan. 25.

ALONZO COASTS: During the Villanova Invitational, on Feb. 1, senior Bianca Alonzo turned out an impressive performance in the 1,000-Meter Run, finishing second in the event, while running a personal record time of 2:48.96. What makes that time stand out, is that it is the fastest time run in the Ivy League this season.

HATCHER JUMPS WITH THE BEST: During the Dr. Sander Invite, sophomore Kali Hatcher, on her final jump in the triple jump, leaped to a new personal record mark of 42-6.75/12.97m to take the title in that event by a large margin. What made the mark impressive was the fact that it was, at the time, the 15th best mark set in the country this season, and even several weeks later it still sits tied for the 17th best mark in the nation.

PIHLKAR CHASING A TITLE: At the Dartmouth-Yale-Columbia tri-meet on Jan. 18, Pihlkar tossed a PR mark of 61-10.25/18.85m to take first in the weight throw. What made the toss impressive was that at the time, it was the 54th best performance in the country and best performance in the Ivy League.

The mark was surpassed by Michael Coppolino shortly after Pihlkar's toss on Jan. 18, but at the Dr. Sander Invite, Pihlkar and Coppolino faced off with each other, and Pihlkar showed that it is a two-horse race at the top of the league in the weight throw. Pihlkar barley missed his PR mark, throwing a distance of 61-9.50/18.83m, to finish third, but his mark bested Coppollion's fourth-place mark, setting the tone for the remainder of the season as things begin to build towards the Ivy League Indoor Track & Field Heps on Feb. 29 in Ithaca, New York.

COLUMBIA PARTICIPANTS

UALBANY WINTER CLASSIC (FEB. 7)
Staten Island, New York (Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex)

Women's Track Events:
60-Meter Dash: Alexis Knight (Fr.); Rachel Marsh (Fr.); Lauren Micham (Jr.)
60-Meter Hurdles: Madelyn Sessler (Jr.); Micham
200-Meter Dash: Knight, Marsh
500-Meter Dash: Brianna Hodges (So.); Betty Jackson (Jr.); Peyton Jones (So.)
800-Meter Run: Bianca Alonzo (Sr.); Terri Turner (Jr.)
1,000-Meter Run: Emily Digman (Sr.); Emily Rooney (So.); Alex Rodman (So.); Cassidy Williams (Fr.); Clio Dakolias (Fr.)
One-Mile Run: Linnaea Kavulich (So.); Rachel Kenny (So.); Angela Saidman (Fr.)

Women's Field Events:
High Jump: Grace Campbell (Jr.); Anna Jordahl-Henry (Fr.); Julia Jordahl-Henry (Fr.)
Long Jump: Casidy Cunningham (So.); Tiffany Bautista (Fr.); Sessler
Triple Jump: Bautista
Shot Put: Cameron Downey (Jr.); Hailey Montgomery (So.)
Weight Throw: Downey; Kayla-Rae Gordon (Fr.); Gia Monachino (Jr.); Montgomery

Men's Track Events:
60-Meter Dash: Brock Thompson (Sr.); Chris Balthazar (Fr.); Jahi Hernandez (Fr.); Dante Miller (So.)
60-Meter High-Hurdles: Moe Abusway (Fr.)
200-Meter Dash: Balthazar; Hernandez, Troy Martig (Sr.); Gio Trejos (Jr.)
400-Meter Dash: James Chung (Fr.); Jemal Vaunado II (Jr.); Brodie Holmes (So.); Trejos
500-Meter Dash: Vasilis Kopanas (Sr.)
800-Meter Run: Jackson Storey (Jr.); Ian Irish (So.); Juan Lasso (Fr.); Nixon McKenzie (Fr.)
1,000-Meter Run: Owen Bishop (Jr.); Aaron Breene (Jr.)
One-Mile Run: Kenny Vasbinder (Sr.); David Vorbach (So.)
3,000-Meter Run: Dominic Dyer (Jr.)

Men's Field Events:
High Jump: Luke Ciarelli (So.); Ernest Robertson (So.); Nate Gramentine (Fr.)
Pole Vault: Tiber Seireeni (So.); Logan Rubasch (So.); Ben Poth (Jr.); Will O'Brien (Fr.)
Shot Put: Hunter Hasley (Sr.); Matt Lange (Fr.)
Weight Throw: Hasley

113TH MILLROSE GAMES (FEB. 6-8)
New York, New York (The Armory)

Women's Track Events:
4x400-Meter Relay (Feb. 8): (A) Knight, Turner, Tessa Green (Fr.), Iman Sule (Sr.), Carlita Taylor (Jr.)

Women's Field Events:
Weight Throw (Feb. 6): Monachino; Montgomery

Men's Track Events:
4x400-Meter Relay (Feb. 8): (A) Balthazar, Holmes, Hernandez, Kopanas, Trejos

Men's Field Events:
Weight Throw (Feb. 6): Pihlkar

CAMEL CITY INVIATIONAL (FEB. 7)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina (JDL Fast Tack)

Women's Track Events:
One-Mile Run: Katie Wasserman (Sr.)
3,000-Meter Run: Allie Hays (Jr.)

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).