Indoor Track & Field Ready for 2023-24 Season

Friday, December 1

New York, N.Y.

10:00 a.m.

Columbia University

Rutgers Holiday Classic

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

11/30/2023 4:30:00 PM | Track and Field

LIVE RESULTS

Lions kick things off at the Rutgers Holiday Classic on Friday morning

NEW YORK — The Columbia track & field team's indoor season begins tomorrow with the Rutgers Holiday Classic at the Armory. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

"Our staff is really excited about our first indoor competitions at the end of this week," Head Coach Dan Ireland said. "Our track and field athletes have been hard at work for over three months now and are eager to compete!"

Columbia will look to build off an impressive 2022-23 indoor season, in which the women finished in fourth place at the Ivy League Indoor Heps, while the men finished in sixth place. The Lions will return one gold medal winner in Justin O'Toole, who won the 800m run last year with a time of 1:49.86. This time set a new Leverone Field House record, as O'Toole became the first runner to break the 1:50 mark in the facility's history.

In addition to an exceptional group of returners, Ireland emphasized how excited he and his staff are to see the results of their talented group of newcomers. To learn more about each individual who joined the track & field program ahead of the 2023-24 season, click HERE. The full roster can be found HERE.

The Lions are fresh off a very successful cross country season, which saw Pheobe Anderson named an NCAA All-American after finishing 29th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 20:01.9 in the 6k hosted at Anorama Farms Cross Country Course in Virginia. In addition, alongside Anderson, three student-athletes were named NCAA All-Region. Nikki Vanasse finished in 12th place at the NCAA East Regionals to earn the honor. Right behind her was Elia Ton-That, who was named All-Region after finishing 15th in the event with a time of 20:15.8. Talha Syed paced the men, finishing 16th in the 10k with a time of 30:05.7 to garner All-Region recognition.

Anderson, Ton-That, and Syed will not be racing at the Armory this weekend. Instead, they will be heading to Boston to compete in the 5k at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. The women's race will be on Saturday at 4:25 p.m. followed by the men's race on Saturday at 6:25 p.m. All three athletes will be looking to set new program records in the indoor 5k, and will be attempting to secure NCAA Qualifying times right out of the gate.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team will be in action on Friday for the Rutgers Holiday classic, a competition where the Lions fared very well in 2022. Rory Clare will look to defend her title in the one-mile run, which she won last year with a time of 5:07.25. Sydney Goldson will also look to defend her 400m run title, which she won last year with a time of 56.62.

Live results for the Rutgers Holiday classic can be tracked HERE.

Columbia's full 2023-24 indoor schedule can be found HERE.

ON DECK:
Next weekend, the Lions will race at the Yale Season Opener on Saturday in New Haven. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.

Stay up to date on all things Columbia track & field by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsXCTF), Instagram (@culionsxctf) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).