PALO ALTO, Calif. – Cornell men's track and field concluded Spring Break this weekend with competitions at the Stanford Invitational, the San Francisco State Distance Carnival, and the Princeton Sam Howell Invitational.  Highlights included 14 IC4A qualifiers and two all-time top-ten performances in school history by James Gowans in the 1500 and Jacob Shaffer in the discus.
 
The bulk of the action was at Friday & Saturday's Stanford Inv. in Palo Alto, CA. 
 
Sprints/Hurdles/Relays:
Sophomore Wynn Curtis won his Friday prelim heat of the 110 hurdles in 14.73 (IC4A) and was seventh in Saturday's final at 15.06, as sophomore Austin Jamerson ran 15.01 in the preliminary heats and ninth in the final at 15.24.  Curtis returned in the 400 hurdles in 56.38.  In the short sprints, freshman Ryan Weigel ran 11.15 in the 100 meters and classmate Brailin Paulino clocked in at 22.14.  In the 400, freshman Michael Smith led the charge at 48.83, ahead of sophomore Tobenna Attah (48.94), freshman Stanford Cooper (49.09), and junior Larry Gibson (50.45), who is on the comeback trail from an indoor injury.   The 4x100 relay placed ninth in 42.24 (IC4A) and the 4x400 quartet of Tobe Attah, Larry Gibson, Stanford Cooper, and Michael Smith ran 3:19.26.
 
Distance:
Sophomore James Gowans unleashed a furious kick (41.9 for his last 300 meters), but came up just short of winning his heat in 3:46.88 (#7 all-time at Cornell, IC4A).  Junior Ben Rainero was 5th in the same heat in a fine 3:48.36 (IC4A).  In the steeple, the due of senior David Melly (9:07.27) and junior Connor Herr (9:09.05) both recorded IC4A-qualifying marks.
 
Jumps:
Junior Stephen Afadapa placed 6th in the high jump at 6'9" (2.06m, IC4A) with freshman Myles Lazarou clearing 6'7" (2.01m) and Austin Jamerson clearing 6'5" (1.96m).  Jamerson also marked 22'0.75" (6.72m) in the long jump.  In the triple jump, freshman Oseoba Airewele hit 44'7" (13.59m), while sophomore John Enkler placed 6th in his section at 46'4.25" (14.13m).   In the pole vault, senior Keith Rayburn was 7th in his section at 15'11" (4.85m, IC4A).
 
Throws:
Senior Stephen Mozia enjoyed a tremendous triple, winning the shot (61'6.25", 18.75m, IC4A), winning the discus (188' 9", 57.53m, IC4A), and grabbing a third IC4A-qualifier in the hammer at 180' 1" (54.88m).   Freshman Andrew Robinson marked 47' 3 ½" (14.41m) in the shot, while classmate Jacob Shaffer threw the disc 167 '9" (51.14m, IC4A), good for #10 all-time. In just his second collegiate javelin competition, freshman Mark Zavrl ended up a mere 5 inches away from Cornell's all-time top-ten list, throwing 194' 4" (59.24m, IC4A).
 
Full Stanford results are here:  http://www.rtspt.com/events/stanford/invite2015/
 
SAN FRANCISCO – At Friday's San Francisco State Distance Carnival, junior Brian Eimstad placed seventh in the 10,000 in 30:16.45 (IC4A), while sophomore Mark Tedder ran the 5000 in 14:45.61 after missing the cross-country and indoor seasons due to injury.
 
Full San Francisco State results are here: http://sfstategators.com/documents/2015/4/4//sfsdc_results_2015.pdf?id=3670
 
PRINCETON, N.J. – A group also competed at Princeton's Sam Howell Invitational on Friday and Saturday. 
 
In the 110 hurdles, sophomore Rachid Zidani placed second in 15.16 after winning his prelim heat in 15.04.  Zidani also ran the 400 hurdles in 56.87, good for ninth place.   At 400, sophomore Will Gibson placed eighth (51.53) and freshman Lionel Chambers was ninth in 51.76. 
 
A trio of 800 competitors was led by senior Sam Belcher (1:56.17), with senior Kieran Kinnare (1:57.34) and freshman Ross Clarke (1:58.33) right behind.  Senior Phelan McCormack set a personal best in the 1500, winning his heat 3:57.96, ahead of senior Sebastian Roemer (3:59.56 in his first-ever 1500) and freshman Tim Boston (4:03.72).  Sophomore David Taylor opened his outdoor season in the 5000 (14:36.64) in 12th place.  Sophomore Vince Harnett threw the javelin 153'3" (46.72m) for eighth place.
 
Full Princeton results are here: http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46878&SPID=4268&DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=210001447
 
Next weekend, the Big Red travels to Lewisburg, PA for the Bucknell Bison Spring Classic on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12. A contingent of athletes will also travel to Fairfax, Va., for the George Mason Spring Invitational on Saturday.