Track & Field To Begin Outdoor Season Saturday

Saturday, March 23

Philadelphia, Pa.

9:00 a.m.

Columbia

Penn Challenge

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

3/22/2024 12:30:00 PM | Track and Field

Full Schedule

Lions open at the Penn Challenge

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Columbia track & field team opens the outdoor portion of its 2024 schedule on Saturday at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

INDOOR RECAP
Following the completion of the Lions' indoor season at the Ivy League Indoor Heps, multiple Lions were recognized for their achievements.

Nikki Vanasse, Phoebe Anderson, Elia Ton-That, Rory Clare, Talha Syed, and Obiora Okeke all received All-Ivy recognition. while Anderson and Okeke were also lauded for their academics.

Anderson represented the women with a First Team All-Ivy selection in the 5,000m, after her dominant first-place finish in the event with an Ivy League Heps record time of 15:41.31. She was also recognized for her academics, as the sustainable development major was named to the Academic All-Ivy Team.

Vanasse also received First Team All-Ivy recognition after becoming the second student-athlete in program history to win the gold medal in the women's mile run. She finished with a time 4:36.62 to win the event.

Ton-That was the only Lion to garner All-Ivy honors in two different events. She was named Second Team All-Ivy in both the 5,000m run and 3,000m run, finishing in second place in both distance events.

Rounding out the women's honorees was Clare, who was named Second Team All-Ivy in the 1,000m run after winning a silver medal in the event with a time of 2:46.19.

Okeke represented the men with a Second Team All-Ivy selection in shot put, after finishing in second place in the event with a mark of 18.46m. He was also recognized for his academics, as the computer science major was named to the Academic All-Ivy Team.

In addition, Talha Syed was named Second Team All-Ivy in the men's 3,000m run, after he finished in second place in the competition with a time of 8:03.50.

MORE ON PHOEBE
In addition to her Ivy League accolades this indoor season, Anderson also advanced to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where was named a Second Team All-American after finishing top-10 in the 5k. The Lions' distance star crossed the finish line with a time of 15:37.21 which was good for 10th place in the competition.

Earlier in the season, at the JDL Last Chance meet in North Carolina, she broke her own 5000m record (which she set earlier this year at the BU Season Opener) with a time of 15:33.96 to take second place in the event.

A week earlier at the Husky Classic, the junior shattered another Columbia record, this time in the 3000m run, taking ninth place in the event with a time of 8:59.70. Anderson became the first Lion to ever break 9 minutes in the 3000m, while clocking the third fastest time in the history of the Ivy League in the process.

At the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge earlier this year, Anderson had another big weekend. She 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.

LAST OUTDOOR SEASON
Following the completion of the Ivy League Outdoor Heps on last year, multiple student-athletes on the men's and women's teams were recognized with postseason All-Ivy accolades. Of those students, the returners for the 2024 season include Anderson, along with Devon Davey, Justin O'Toole, Nikki Vanasse, and Jacob Ireland.

Balthazar was the star of the show for the Lions, being named the Men's Most Outstanding Track Performer after sweeping both the 100m dash and 200m dash which included a meet and program record time of 20.41 seconds in the 200m. This resulted in him being named First Team All-Ivy in both events.

Anderson represented the women, being named Second Team All-Ivy after finishing in second place in the 5000m run with a time of 16:23.07.

On the men's side of things, Davey and O'Toole were both honored with Second Team All-Ivy selections after second place finishes in the 400m run and 800m run, respectively.

In addition, the men's 4x400m relay team, consisting of returners Haydn Brotschi, Max Comfere, and Davey, was named Second Team All-Ivy after finishing in second place with a time of 3:08.29

Vanasse received the Academic All-Ivy nod for her performance both on the track and in the classroom. The economics major with a 3.63 GPA also had a third place finish in the 1500m run at the Outdoor Heps. Ireland was named Academic All-Ivy on the men's side.

ON DECK:
With the Lions' outdoor season fully underway, next up will be the Raleigh Relays on March 28 in North Carolina.

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

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