Track & Field Set to Host Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge this Weekend

Friday, January 26

New York, N.Y.

9:00 a.m.

Columbia University

Dr Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

Track & Field Set to Host Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge this Weekend

1/25/2024 5:30:00 PM | Track and Field

MEET INFO LIVE RESULTS FULL SCHEDULE

Action begins on Friday morning at the Armory

NEW YORK — Columbia Track & Field returns to the historic Armory this weekend, as the Lions host the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge. The first event begins at 9 a.m. on Friday, and the competition will continue on Saturday morning.

"We are very excited to continue our relationship with the Armory as a co-host of the 2024 Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge," Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Daniel Ireland said. "This meet will have some of the best competition in the northeast with schools from all over the country. The Armory is an incredible track and field facility for not just competitors but for spectators as well. It will be a great two days of outstanding competition."

MEET INFO
For everything you need to know about the Columbia Challenge, visit the event page on the Armoy's website, HERE.

A full schedule for the competition, including start times for each event both days can be found HERE.

Live results will also be available via the Armory's website, HERE.

Tickets are available HERE for Friday, and HERE for Saturday.

THE FIELD
The field participating in the Columbia challenge this year is very competitive, and contains schools from all around the country. This includes: Binghamton, Brown, Cornell, Georgia Southern, Iona, La Salle, Lehman, Liberty, LIU, Manhattan, Maryland, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, North Eastern, NYU, Princeton, Quinnipiac, Ramapo, Rowan, Saint Peter's, St. John's, St. Joseph's, Stony Brook, Temple, UConn, and Yale.

Heat sheets containing a list of every single competitor, specifically for Columbia, along with which event they will be competing in, and which heat and lane they will be running in can be found HERE.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Lions traveled to Connecticut to take on Yale and Dartmouth in a meet at Coxe Cage in New Haven. Columbia's men's team finished in second place, while the women finished in third place.

Despite neither team finishing in first, both Lions' squads were well represented in terms of first place finishers with four victories per team.

For the men, Obiora Okeke earned another victory in the shot put with a mark of 17.88. Talha Syed finished in first place in the 3000m with a time of 8:03.25. Devon Davey took first in the 500m with a time of 1:03.54. In addition, Mason McVey won the pole vault with a mark of 4.65.

For the women, Jada Mia Puryear led things off with a win in the shot put, with a mark of 13.67. Elia Ton-That kept up her distance dominance, winning the mile with a time of 4:43.48. Olivia Schmitt took first in the 800m with a time of 2:09.92. Meanwhile, Nikki Vanasse won the 1000m with a time of 2:45.91.

Full results from the event, including all of the Lions' top performers and times, can be found HERE.

Columbia will look to build upon these performances and ride the momentum into this weekend's home meet.

ON DECK:
Next weekend, the Lions will participate in the METS Indoor Championships at Ocean Breeze. The competition is set to begin at 10 a.m. in Staten Island.

Columbia's schedule for the rest of the 2023-24 indoor schedule can be found HERE.

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