Track & Field Fares Well at Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge

Friday, January 26

New York, N.Y.

9:00 a.m.

Columbia University

Dr Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography

Track & Field Fares Well at Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge

1/27/2024 7:00:00 PM | Track and Field

Results

The men took second place while the women finished in seventh

NEW YORK — The Columbia indoor track and field team hosted the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge this weekend at the Armory, and fared really well against a strong field of competitors. The men finished the two-day event in second place (80.5 points), while the women concluded the weekend in seventh place (44 points).

"We had a lot of great performances and personal bests across all events this weekend," Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Daniel Ireland said. "We saw many breakthrough efforts which will hopefully lead to even better performances throughout the remainder of the season."

UConn led the pack on the men's side with a score of 125, while the women's field was led by Princeton with 133 points. The other schools who made the trip to New York City for the competition and made up the incredibly strong field were Binghamton, Brown, Cornell, Georgia Southern, Iona, La Salle, Lehman, Liberty, LIU, Manhattan, Maryland, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, North Eastern, NYU, Quinnipiac, Ramapo, Rowan, Saint Peter's, St. John's, St. Joseph's, Stony Brook, Temple, and Yale.

Justin O'Toole and Phoebe Anderson both had a big weekend, each breaking a Columbia record. Anderson set a new record in the women's mile run with a time of 4:35.89, which was also the seventh fastest time in the history of the Ivy League. O'Toole broke the Columbia men's 800m record with a time of 1:48.31 which was also the eighth fastest time in the history of the Ivy League.

Meanwhile, Obiora Okeke continued to dominate the shot put, placing second with a mark of 17.56m. He also notched a personal best in the weight throw with a mark of 19.39m which is the second best mark in program history.

Elia Ton-That won the 3000m with a time of 9:11.37 which was the third fastest time in the history of Columbia and the ninth fastest time in Ivy League history.

Elsewhere for the men, Charlie Siebert won the 5000m with a time of 13:52.37, while Adam Jaros won the heptathlon with a time of 2:50.36. Devon Davey took second in the 400m with a time of 48.13.

Elsewhere for the women, Mary Caroline Heinen won the 5000m with a time of 16:24.14. Rory Clare took second in the college one mile run with a time of 4:48.43. Patrice Smith placed second in the long jump with a mark of 5.21m.

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

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).