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Outdoor Athletes of the Week #5

There was a lot of Ivy action this past weekend, both for undergraduates and alumni. Today, we will be focusing on the undergraduate achievements (which there are many) and tomorrow we will recap the alumni.

Male Athletes of the Week:

Cornell senior Bruno Hortelano-Roig was previously in the outdoor 200m recordbooks for having one of the fastest wind-assisted times in conference history. But now, he finally has broken through on the wind-legal charts. At the Larry Ellis Invitational, Hortelano-Roig edged out LIU Brooklyn’s Brendon Rodney for the 200m title, 20.91 to 20.93. Hortelano-Roig’s 20.91 ties him in the 7th best outdoor performance slot. Hortelano-Roig does have an outdoor 200m personal best of 20.47 (which is also the Spanish national record), but that was contested outside of the regular NCAA season.

Penn sophomore Sam Mattis became the 2nd thrower in Ivy League history to surpass 200 feet in the discus throw. At the Larry Ellis Invitational, he won the event with a 203-00 toss. The throw improved his standing as the second best thrower in conference history, but it also is the 4th best throw in the NCAA this season. This is the 3rd time this season that Mattis has broken the Penn school record in the discus.

Female Athletes of the Week:

Princeton sophomore Julia Ratcliffe will be sharing the award this week after earning it outright last week. Ratcliffe reset the Ivy League and New Zealand national record for the second straight week, throwing 230-07 at the Larry Ellis Invitational on her home throwing circle. While breaking records is worthy of this award, Ratcliffe is cementing herself as one of the top hammer throwers in NCAA history. She was the 9th best hammer thrower after last week’s competition (per USTFCCCA recordbooks), helping her earn USTFCCCA National D1 Athlete of the Week accolades and recognition of the Bowerman Award Watchlist. But this weekend’s throw has jumped up her up to the 5th best slot.

Cornell senior Rachel Sorna ran a 7 second personal best in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Larry Ellis Invitational, finishing in 3rd place with 9:43.48. A new personal best for Sorna in this event means a new Ivy League record. But some bonus perks is that it is now the top time in the NCAA, just outside the top 10 all-time NCAA list (#10 performance is 9:43.09), AND the 4th best time in the WORLD (at least as of this viewing of the IAAF world performance list). The winner of this race – Princeton alumna Ashley Higginson, who ran a WORLD-LEADING 9:35.72 for the steeplechase.

Male Rookie of the Week:

Princeton freshman Chris Cook set a new collegiate best at the Larry Ellis Invitational in the shot put, winning the event in 56-10 1/4. The mark is the 5th best distance in the shot put this season. Cook would later place 5th in the discus with in 163-10 (his current season’s best in the discus is 167-05).

Female Rookies of the Week:

Two Princeton freshmen will be sharing the award this week. Megan Curham entered the conference recordbooks for the first time this weekend. Her second place finish in the Larry Ellis Invitational 5,000m race is the 9th fastest time in outdoor conference history – 16:00.71. Curham bested two other freshmen from Michigan State to finish as the top collegian in this event. Curham’s time currently ranks her 22nd in the country. Out in the field events, Allison Harris finished as the top collegian in the pole vault, clearing 12-11 1/2. Not only is the clearance a new personal best for Harris, but it ties her for the 9th best clearance in outdoor conference history.

Honorable Mentions:

Cornell sophomore Udeme Akpaete was edged out for the individual 400m win at the Larry Ellis Invitational, but her time of 53.71 places her 6th in the Ivy League recordbooks and is a new Cornell school record.
Dartmouth sophomore Dana Giordano is probably going to be next face of Dartmouth distance running once Abbey D’Agostino graduates – evidence: Giordano’s 15:53.96 in the Mt Sac Relays 5,000m Invitational event, which is the 4th best in conference history.
Harvard sophomore Madison Hansen won the heptathlon at the LSU Alumni Gold meet, setting a new personal best of 5,152 points that ties her for 8th place in the conference recordbooks.
Harvard senior James Leakos ran a new personal best in the 5,000m at the Mt Sac Relays, running a 13:44.57 to finish 17th in the field and rank himself 10th in the conference recordbooks.
Harvard junior Jarvis Harris ran a great 110 hurdles race down at the LSU Alumni Gold meet, running a 13.80 to finish 2nd in the event. Too bad it was not wind legal, otherwise it would have been tied for the 2nd fastest time in conference history.