The men’s and women’s track teams came out of this past weekend’s UAA Tournament with a number of great individual performances. Yet the Maroons, ranked first in the conference going into the weekend, were unable to enjoy the same success in the overall standings.
Third-year Erin Steiner highlighted the 2004 UAA Indoor Championship for the Maroons, winning both the 5K this Friday in a time of 18:05.90 and the 3K on Saturday in 10:22.50 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Steiner led the women’s team to a third-place finish in the team standings. The men’s team also finished third overall.
“I did not really expect to with both the 3K and the 5K,” Steiner said. “In fact, I did not expect to win either event.”
Also taking home top honors in her respective event, second-year Jessica Winter won the 1500-meter run in 4:44.10. Winter also finished fourth in the 3K in a time of 10:32.57.
Fourth-year Val Anderson had an impressive meet, finishing first in the weight throw competition with a distance of 16.51 meters and also coming in second in the shot put competition with an effort of 12.11 meters.
A number of Maroons earned All-UAA honors, which are awarded to the top three finishers in each event.
Second-year Sarah Eldridge tied for third in the high jump competition, clearing 1.50 meters. Second-year Gabby Jones finished third in the long jump competition with a leap of 5.20 meters.
In the distance events, first-years Al Robertson and Jackie Kropp were fourth and fifth in the 800-meter run respectively. First-year Dilshanie Perera finished fifth in the 5K with a time of 18:46.50. Second-year Annie Sanders was sixth in 3K in 10:33.83.
The distance medley relay team of third-year Emily Kay, Eldridge, third-year Mary McGrath, and Sanders finished an impressive second in a time of 12:38.87.
Finishing fourth in their respective events were second-year Kay Saul in the pole vault, clearing a height of 2.86 meters, and first-year Melissa Lopez in the long jump with a leap of 5.16 meters. Lopez also finished sixth in the triple jump (10.38 meters).
A pair of Chicago sprinters pulled in sixth place finishes. Second-year Diana Connett ran the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 9.68 seconds. First-year Andrea Keliiholokai finished the 200-meter dash in 27.24 seconds.
The women finished third in the team standings, scoring a total of 89 points. Washington University won the meet with 111 points. New York University was second with 93 points.
“The best part of the meet was not really just racing well, it was being able to race for a great team,” Steiner said. “I am pretty sure that the women’s track team has not had such a well balanced and high-achieving team in many years.”
Fourth-year Patrick Sullivan led the men’s team, winning his third UAA Indoor 1500-meter title easily in a time of 3:55.14 and placing second in the 3K in 8:39.09.
Right behind Sullivan in the 1500-meter, first-year Emil Bojanov claimed second-place in a time of 3:58.89.
Fourth-year Tom Haxton took home the individual title in the 5K, winning in a time of 15:02 .45 and holding off a strong finish from Jared Markowitz of Carnegie Mellon University, who finished a second behind at 15:03.60.
Leading the Maroons in the throwing events, first-year Leon Gordon finished second in the shot put competition (13.71 meters) and was third in the weight throw (14.52 meters).
First-year Mike Hawkins added his own strong toss, finishing sixth in the weight throw with a distance of 13.18 meters.
In the jumping events, fourth-year Adeoye Mabogunje finished third in the triple jump in 13.91 meters and was fourth in the high jump competition, clearing a height of 1.95 meters. Third-year Seyi Oyenuga finished fifth in the long jump with a jump of 6.64 meters.
Third-year Brian Eichhorn tied for third in the pole vault competition, clearing 4.33 meters.
In the sprinting events fourth-year Babak Yousefian was fifth in the 55-meter high hurdles with a time of 7.87 seconds. He added a sixth-place finish in the 55-meter dash (6.86 seconds).
The men totaled 77 points to earn their third-place finish. Emory won the meet scoring 136 points and Washington University was second with 115 points.
The NCAA Division III Championships will take place this Friday and Saturday in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Eight Maroons have qualified for the meet.
Fourth-year Adeoye Mabogunje currently ranks first in the division in the triple jump with a mark of 15.15 meters. Fourth-year Tom Haxton stands third in the 5K with a time of 14:31.08 and fourth-year Patrick Sullivan is sixth in the 1500 meters with 3:53.57.
The men’s distance medley team of Sullivan, Allan, third-year David Barr, and Bojanov currently stands ninth with a time of 10:07.15.
Two women are currently qualified. Fourth-year Val Anderson is seventh in the weight throw with a mark of 16.15 meters. Second-year Jessica Winter stands 15th in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:40.94.
