Syracuse University
Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational
SU Splits Up at Princeton and Cortland
4/16/2009 11:32:32 AM | Track and Field
Princeton Schedule of Events | Cortland Schedule of Events
Men's Top Marks | Women's Top Marks
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After the sprinters and throwers secured three first-place finishes at North Carolina last weekend, the entire Orange track & field team will be deployed at both the Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational and the Cortland Classic. Both competitions will be contested on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. The nearby Cortland Classic starts up at 3:00 p.m. on Friday while the Larry Ellis Invite goes off at 4:00 p.m.
Through four outdoor competitions this season (FSU Relays, Stanford Invite, Sam Howell Invite and UNC Invite), Syracuse has turned out 21 top-three showings.
Senior Michael LeBlanc captured his first 100-meter dash title in over a year in Chapel Hill last week while sophomore Jarret Eaton took out the field in the 110-meter hurdles in SU's first meet at Princeton two weeks ago.
Sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong joined LeBlanc on the first-place podium in the 100-meter dash at UNC last week. Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa represented SU's multi effort with a first-place performance in the heptathlon at Florida State while classmate Lorraine Hill has knocked down two wins in the javelin toss at both FSU and UNC.
In the Orange's last visit to Princeton, N.J. on April 3-4, both the distance and sprints teams enjoyed success at the Weaver Outdoor Track & Field Stadium.
Senior Skyy Simmons bested 35 other runners in the 400-meter dash for second place with an IC4A-qualfiying time of 47.99 alongside Eaton's win in the 110-meter hurdles.
In the distance game, junior Curtis Bixler and freshman Natalie Busby both turned in team-best fourth place finishes of 9:04.29 and 10:45.14 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Both marks yielded each runner's first NCAA Regional-qualifying mark for the Orange.
Freshman Heather Stephens and sophomore Rebekah Mackay elicited strong times in the 5,000-meter challenge after the two harriers wrapped up fifth and sixth place, in that order, with IC4A-qualfying times of 17:15.30 and 17:20.27.
The Orange has locked up seven individual NCAA Regional bids and looks to expand upon that figure this weekend. Following the two-meet weekend, Syracuse will take part in the 115th running of the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. from April 23-25. The Orange will also venture to Ithaca, N.Y. on April 26 for the Cornell Big Red Invitational.
