NEW YORK — The Columbia track & field team began its 2024-25 indoor season on Friday morning at the Rutgers Holiday Classic at the Armory. The Lions had a really successful start to the year, winning four events in a competitive field.
Obiora Okeke picked up right where he left off last year to dominate his field events. He won the weight throw with a mark of 19.23m and also came in second in the shot put with a mark of 18.19m.
Columbia's distance runners had a fantastic day, accounting for two of the other wins.
Rory Clare won the women's 3000m run with a time of 9:40.70, 11 seconds faster than her win last year.
Lucy Henkel took first place in the 1000m run with a time of 2:50.33.
Jacob Van Orden finished second in the men's mile with a time of 4:13.05, while
Grace Carr placed second in the women's mile with a time of 4:56.05. Justin Gotlieb took second in the men's 1000m with a time of 2:25.96.
The Lions also had a plethora of other second place finishers including
Collin Moore in the high jump (2.03m),
Rocco Carpinello in the men's triple jump (14.25m), and
Madison Williams in the women's triple jump (11.96m).
The women's distance medley relay team had a great debut, coming in first place.
Isabella Shertzer, Henkel,
Annie Killian, and
Sydney Loder clocked in with a time of 12:54.03 to finish off the the meet with a victory.
Full results from the Rutgers Holiday classic, including all of Columbia's other top finishers, can be found
HERE.
In addition, the Lions had four men run at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danvile Season Opener in Boston.
Caleb Gartner led the way with a ninth place finish in the 9k. crossing the finish line with a time of 2:23.72.
Matt Gatune placed 52nd in the 3k with a time of 8:06.39.
In the 5k,
Talha Syed finished with a time of 13:44.97 which was good for 59th and
Charlie Siebert clocked in at 13:57.75 which was good for 103rd.
ON DECK:
The Lions will be off the rest of December for the holidays, before returning to action in the new year on January 17 in the NYC Gotham Cup.
Stay up to date on all things Columbia track & field by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsXCTF), Instagram (@culionsxctf) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
