PRINCETON, N.J. — Cornell wrapped up competition at the Larry Ellis Invitational on Saturday with a series of top finishes on the track, highlighted by a record-setting performance from freshman Arianna Allen and multiple runner-up results.
Allen delivered the top performance of the day for the Big Red, winning the 100-meter hurdles in 13.62. The freshman improved her own program freshman record and moved to No. 2 all-time in Cornell history with the victory. Classmate Divine Bamgboye also scored in the event, placing seventh in 13.81.
Cornell's sprint group turned in a strong showing across multiple events. Olivia Walters led the way in the 100 meters with a second-place finish in 11.97, while Natasha Redmond followed in fifth at 12.00. Redmond added a third-place finish in the 200 meters finishing in 24.26, with Walters placing 10th in 24.82 and Eden Oje taking 16th in 24.97.
In the 400 meters, Francine Stevens paced the Big Red with a runner-up finish in 53.86, followed closely by Rachel Bethke in third at 55.47. Oje added a ninth-place finish in 56.85, while Katja Jackson crossed in 57.81 to place 20th and Elika Vahhaji finished in 57.90 to take 23rd.
Cornell also saw success in the middle-distance events, as Tenley Nelson took second in 2:10.53 and Fiona Lee took third in 2:10.98 in the 800 meters. Freshman Kinga Czajkowska added a 13th-place finish in the event in 2:16.02 after placing fifth in the 1500 meters earlier in the day with a time of 4:29.35.
In the relays, the 4x400-meter team of Elise Sawyer, Rachel Bethke, Sophia Comfere and Francine Stevens placed second in 3:40.62. The 4x100-meter relay squad of Divine Bamgboye, Brianna Beckham, Natasha Redmond and Olivia Walters also reached the podium, finishing third in 45.56.
In the field events, Avery Hilliard led Cornell with a second-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 4.00m, while Lauren Cashman placed fourth at 3.85m. In the triple jump, Anika Sukumar recorded a personal-best mark of 12.35m to place fifth and move into a tie for No. 5 all-time in program history. Elizabeth Graham cleared 11.54m to take 14th and Sarah Caldwell cleared 11.04m to take 20th.
Continuing in the jumps, in the high jump, Paula-Marie Brown, Syna Sony and Johanna Stuard each cleared 1.63m to place 15th, 16th and 17th, respectively.
Cornell added depth in the shot put, led by Nicole Loy placing 12th, with a final mark of 13.97m, Claire Springer took 13th with 13.85m mark and Lauren Smith placed 18th with a 13.42m mark.
Cornell returns to Princeton in two weeks for the Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Track and Field Championships, scheduled for May 16-17.
