NEW YORK – The Cornell men's track and field team continues to impress as the indoor season progresses, and that was no different on the second and final day of the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge on Saturday at The Armory, as the Big Red finished fourth overall among 21 teams with 64 points.

A victory for Cornell in the 400-meter and three point-scorers apiece for the Big Red in the 3,000-meter run and weight throw laid the groundwork for Cornell's success. Sophomore Tomas Kersulis clinched the individual victory for the Big Red in the 400-meter, making a statement in his first time running the event this season. Kersulis' winning time of 47.32 not only marked a personal-best, but ranks third all-time in Cornell history and third on Ivy League performance list so far this season.

Junior Rishabh Prakash (8:07.83) and freshman Damian Hackett (8:11.27) both engraved their names in the Big Red record books in the 3,000-meter run, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, and both notching personal-bests in the process. Prakash's time is the ninth-fastest in Cornell history, while Hackett's mark sets a new Big Red freshman record, surpassing Greg Fusco's previous record of 8:17.81 from 2019. Senior Marek Nowak also scored points for Cornell in the 3,000-meter, finishing seventh in 8:15.04.

The Big Red throwers continue to raise the bar, led by senior Ian Frost, who recorded a personal-best in the weight throw for the third-straight meet on Saturday. Frost surpassed the 19-meter mark for the first time of his career, placing third overall with a heave of 19.11m (62-08.50). He also cracked Cornell's all-time top-10 list, as his throw ranks 10th all-time. Freshman Phil Coppolino (17.67m/57-11.75) and sophomore Brad Morell (17.59m/57-08.50) put points on the board for the Big Red as well, placing seventh and eighth, respectively.

Other notable performances include senior Greg Fusco's mile run and sophomore Rhys Hammond's 800-meter run. Fusco finished sixth in the mile in 4:07.60, while Hammond placed eighth in the 800-meter in 1:52.92, both times of which were personal-bests.

Cornell's final points on the day came from the 4x400-meter relay team of junior Christian Martin, freshman Jack Daly, freshman Fabien De Silva, and Kersulis, who crossed the finish line in 3:15.15 to place fifth.

The Cornell men's track and field team will return to The Armory next weekend for the Rutgers Open on Feb. 11-12.