Not to be outdone, the men’s 4x880-yard relay ascended to the top of the podium as well. Senior Jonas Aranda, Thrush, senior Gabe Montague, and sophomore Mike Kolor claimed the top spot in 7:43.49. However for a bit, it didn’t look like they would. Kolor turned on the gas as he rounded the final corner of track, claiming the lead with just 50 yards remaining.
The men’s team is in a particular strong spot with its relay teams. Last week the group split the team into two separate 4x400-meter groups. The two groups finished first and second.
“The relays going one and two [last week] I think shows the quality of the team we have,” Marshall said. “More than anything it shows our competitive spirit and excitement surrounding the event.”
The student-athletes in the field found success of their own, particularly in the jumps. In long jump, sophomore Simi Fajemisin achieved a season best on a 5.77-meter leap for the gold medal on her third attempt. Thomas took second in the event, jumping once for 5.70 meters.
Co-captain Marlena Sabatino also achieved a season best mark on the afternoon, taking the gold medal following a 3.90-meter vault. Teammate junior Nicole Trenchard left with bronze. On the men’s side, Ian West cleared the 5.05-meter mark, enough for the second place medal.
Sophomore Gunnar Allison also reached the second position on the platform with a 15.86-meter toss in the weight throw event.
COLUMBIA CHALLENGE
For the first meet of the weekend, only a few of the team’s athletes traveled to New York Friday to compete in the competitive Columbia Challenge. Featuring some of the nation’s top track programs, including Oregon and Duke, the competition was one of the most difficult the team has faced this season.
In addition to Thomas’ domination in the 60-meter dash, she claimed another gold in the 200-meter dash, crossing the line in 23.04 seconds. Joiner joined her among the top ranks with after 8.49 second finish in the 60-meter hurdles that merited fifth place.
Fajemisin wrapped things up with a silver medal finish in triple jump. The sophomore leapt 12.70 meters, out-jumping athletes from Duke, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and UCLA.
“I think while we might have things going well so far compared to the local area we have to keep in mind our goals of competing at the stage of Heps,” Marshall said. “I think that everyone on the team, no matter their results, has stuff to work on, and I would hope and expect to see things come better together over the next few weeks.”
—Staff writer Cade Palmer can be reached at cade.palmer@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @THC_CadePalmer.