February 26, 2012

Columbia Wins First Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track & Field Championship in Program History

ITHACA, N.Y. -- For the first time ever, the Columbia women's track and field team won the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track & Field Championships title, totaling six titles and 124 points to hold off Cornell, which tallied 103 points.

Dartmouth (73), Harvard (65), Brown (57), Princeton (56), Penn (37) and Yale (12) round out the standings.

The Lions' championship is the first for either squad since the men tied with Cornell in 1953. Columbia becomes the first team other than Cornell or Princeton's to win the title since Brown in 2001.

Princeton junior Tory Worthen was named Most Outstanding Performer after winning the pole vault with an all-meet record of 13-6 ¼, a full inch better than the all-time Indoor Heptagonals mark set by Yale's Molly Lederman in 2006 and half an inch better than the previous all-meet mark, set by Worthen in 2010. With her victory, Worthen became the second three-time champion in League history, joining Lederman.

The second day opened with the mile run, which Dartmouth sophomore Abbey D'Agostino won in 4:46.81, the sixth-best time in meet history. D'Agostino, after being passed at the finish line in the 5,000m the previous day, held off Cornell junior Alyssa O'Connor (4:47.37) and Columbia freshman Waverly Neer (4:48.15) to place first.

Neer's day wasn't finished, however, as she won the 3,000m title in 9:21.82, the fastest winning-time in the Indoor Heptagonals since Princeton's Cack Ferrell in 2006 (9:17.60). Neer was joined on the title stand by sophomores Marvellous Iheukwumere and Miata Morlu, who won the 200m and 400m, respectively.

Among the field events, Lions senior Monique Roberts became the third three-time champion in League history with a mark of 5-9 ¼, matching the leap she made in last year's Indoor Championships. Freshman Nadia Eke won the triple jump with a leap of 42-4 ¼ to give Columbia back-to-back triple jump titles for the first time in program history (Queen Okeke).

Cornell senior Melissa Hewitt kept the 60m dash title in Ithaca with her third-straight win in that event, recording a time of 7.57. She became the first three-time 60m dash champion in Big Red history and the third in League history.

Harvard senior Meghan Looney became the first Crimson 800m winner since 1995, when Karen Goetze won the second of her back-to-back titles.

Women's Team Standings
1.   Columbia, 124
2.   Cornell, 103
3.   Dartmouth, 73
4.   Harvard, 65
5.   Brown, 57
6.   Princeton, 56
7.   Penn, 37
8.   Yale, 12