NEW YORK – Sophomore Tomas Kersulis, senior Greg Fusco, and the Big Red's distance medley relay team all picked up individual victories for the Cornell men's track and field team on the first day of the Rutgers Open on Friday at The Armory.
Kersulis emerged victorious in the 400-meter for the second-straight week, crossing the finish line in 47.43. Freshmen Fabien De Silva (49.89) and Jack Daly (50.01) secured top-eight showings in the event, placing sixth and eighth, respectively. For Daly, the time marked a personal-best.
Fusco's win came in the 1,000-meter run, as Cornell had two runners finish in the top-three of the event. Fusco was the first to clock in at 2:26.34, while junior Alex Mocarski placed third with a time of 2:27.08. Both Fusco's and Mocarski's marks were personal-bests.
The Big Red's entirely-freshmen distance medley relay team proved to be a winning combination, as Brady Shute, De Silva, Jack Lenz, and Damian Hackett finished first in 10:05.10. The team's time shattered the Cornell freshman record in the event, surpassing the previous record of 10:10.13 set by Brian Steck, Will Gibson, Alder Faulkner, and David Taylor in 2013.
Senior thrower Ian Frost and sophomore pole vaulter Shane Racey both secured runner-up finishes in their respective events on Friday, with Frost placing second in the championship division of the weight throw with a heave of 18.76m (61-06.00) and Racey clearing 4.91m (16-01.25) to finish second in the pole vault. Freshman Vicentejordan Vanderlipe also cleared 4.91m (16-01.25) in the pole vault, placing third and notching a new personal-best in the process. Vanderlipe has shown constant improvement, securing a personal-best in all four meets in which he has competed this season.
A trio of Big Red competitors qualified for Saturday's rounds of their events after strong showings in Friday's prelims. Junior Christian Martin (8.02) and senior Billy Powers (8.29) both qualified for finals of the 60-meter hurdles. Martin's time was the third-fastest among all qualifiers, while Powers' mark matches his personal-best. Freshman Domenic Barresi will race in the 60-meter dash semifinals on Saturday after posting a qualifying time of 7.02 in the event on Friday.
Sophomore Rhys Hammond (4:05.10) and junior Rishabh Prakash (4:05.58) notched top-five finishes in the mile run, placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Prakash, along with senior Marek Nowak who placed seventh in 4:08.47, both ran personal-bests.
Action will resume at the Rutgers Open this morning at 11 a.m.
