Men's and Women's Track continue strong performance at Larry Ellis Invitational

It was an eventful weekend for men and women’s track at the Larry Ellis Invitational, held at Princeton’s Weaver Stadium.

Junior Allison Harris broke the Ivy League pole vault record, clearing 4.15 m. The previous record of 4.11m was set nearly 12 years ago by Princeton’s Chelo Canino at the 2004 NCAA East Regionals. Harris had also set the Ivy League indoor record in Feb. at Penn State’s Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup with a height of 4.20m.

On the first day, senior Cecilia Barowski won the Elite 800m with a time of 2:03.05, the highest of 80 competitors. Sophomore Ashley Forte came in 13th, followed shortly by freshman Jackie Berardo in 15th.

Senior Emily de La Bruyere finished with the best collegiate time and a personal record of 10:06.26 to take fourth place in the steeplechase. Junior Alexandra Markovich finished in ninth.

Junior Katie Hanss and sophomores Melinda Renuart and Delaney Miller all set personal records in the 1500 m. With a time of 4:22.63, Hanss finished in third.

Sophomore Kennedy O’Dell was fifth in the hammer throw, while senior Brielle Rowe finished in ninth.

Junior Ariel Becker, senior Kathryn Fluehr and junior Amanda Chang also performed impressively in the javelin, 5k and 10k, respectively.

There were three top-three finishes on the men’s side after Day 1. Freshman Adam Kelly was second in the hammer throw.

Sophomore August Kiles took third in the pole vault after clearing 5.20 m, while junior Ben Gaylord tied for sixth.

Sophomore Garrett O’Toole claimed second place in the 1500m with a personal record of 3:41.85.

On Day 2, Harris had a record-breaking finish in the pole vault. The Tigers also dominated the 800m. Having qualified for the Olympic trials with a previous time of 2:02.62, Barowski finished at 2:06.99 after 2:03.05 in Day 1. Sophomore Ashley Forte, freshman Jackie Berardo and junior Zoe Sims followed in third, fourth and fifth place.

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Meghan McMullin was second in the 400m hurdles, while freshman Ellie Randolph and sophomore Maia Craver were third and fourth in the 100m hurdles.

Junior Elisa Steele took 12th in the 400m with a personal record of 55.80, and also performed well in the 200m.

Senior Birdie Hutton took 18th in the 1500m, and sophomore Christina Walter finished in 16th in the 100m.

Brielle placed fourth in the discus, while sophomore Kennedy O’Dell claimed ninth place in the same event and eighth place in the shot put.

At 5.36, senior Sara Ronde had the best jump for the women’s team, while freshman Nnenna Ibe was ninth in the high jump.

Freshman Carly Bonnet, sophomore Mattie Baron, sophomore Christina Walter and junior Zoe Sims completed the 4x400m relay, the final event of the day, at 3:53.51 to take third in Section 1.

The men also came out strong on Day 2. Sophomore Carrington Akosa won the 200m out of 48 sprinters with a personal record of 21.25 and finished in sixth in the 100m, while sophomore Mitchel Charles placed second in the discus.

With the relay team of freshman Charles Volker, freshman Josh Billington, senior Daniel McCord and Akosa, the Tigers took second place in the 4x100m at 40.62.

McCord, junior Jabari Johnson, sophomore Joshua Freeman and junior Ray Mennin pulled out another second place finish for the Tigers in 4x400m with an overall time of 3:14.54. Mennin also took eighth in the 400m.

Freshman Franklin Aririguzoh and sophomore Jared Lee finished in tenth and 13th place in the 800m, while sophomore Zachary Albright placed fourth in the 1500m.

Senior Greg Caldwell earned an impressive third-place finish in the 110m hurdles at 14.36. Junior Greg Leeper took sixth place in the 400m hurdles and was followed shortly by sophomore Spencer Long and freshman Christian Fryer-Davis.

Senior Jake Scinto leapt to third place in the long jump, and junior Xavier Bledsoe finished in fourth in the high jump.

Mitchel Charles also placed second in the discus and fifth in the shot put.

Though both the women’s and men’s teams have had an eventful season so far, McCord has stated that the teams’ ultimate goal is to take first in the Ivy League Championship and to send athletes to the NCAA national championship. “Our goals this year are the same as they are every year. We aim to winning an outdoor Ivy League Championship. After we accomplish that goal, the next step is to qualify as many athletes as possible for the NCAA national championship in Eugene, Ore. I've been once before in my Princeton career and there's nothing better than competing at the highest level of the sport.”