The Elis hit the ground running in the new year and completed their final unscored meet of the Indoor season in the Yale Invitational last weekend.

After returning from winter break, the Yale track and field team lined up against nearby collegiate institutions including Brown, Bryant and Boston College. In the 32nd annual Yale Invitational at Coxe Cage, eleven Elis managed to find top-10 spots in their respective events and several Bulldogs placed in the top three. Standout performances by underclassmen combined with consistent upperclassman leadership to bring the Bulldogs their success last weekend.

“The meet was a little like [December’s season opener] in that we were competing for the first time in a while,” captain James Shirvell ’14 said. “We had some good performances and we can view it as a starting point to improve. It was good to get back into a competitive mindset, as we have the Yale-Dartmouth-Columbia meet this weekend.”

Sprinter Marc-Andre Alexander ’17 led the young Yale talent and improved upon his performance in the season opener, running the 60-meter dash in 6.94 seconds to earn a second-place finish. Dylan Hurley ’15 also contributed to the sprinters’ success, finishing sixth with a time of 50.64 in the 400-meter dash.

In the throwing events, no Yale men placed in the top-10 for the weight throw or shot put. However, Karleh Wilson ’16 finished second in the women’s weight throw and Kate Simon ’17 placed ninth. Simon also garnered a ninth-place finish in the women’s shot put.

Shirvell continued to lead the Bulldog force in the middle distance. Shirvell ran the 800-meter in 1:54.49 and placed second overall, while Elis Grace Michael ’15, John Mahoney ’16 and James Randon ’17 placed fourth, fifth and seventh respectively. Yale earned more top-10 finishes in the 800-meter dash than any other participating institution.

The Elis performed as well in the air as they did on the ground. Emily Urciuoli ’14 topped the charts in the pole vault at 3.45 meters. In the men’s pole vault, Brendan Sullivan ’16 performed better than his fourth-place finish indicated. Sullivan vaulted 4.80 meters for a personal record — the fifth highest personal pole-vaulting record in Yale history.

In the triple jump, long jump and high jump, Yale only found three top-10 finishes; Dana Lindberg ’14 finished fourth in the men’s long jump, Megan Toone ’16 finished fourth and Lillian Foote ’17 placed sixth in the women’s high jump.

The Bulldogs will next compete on Jan. 18 in a smaller meet in Hanover, N.H., against Ivy League opponents Columbia and Dartmouth. The Yale-Dartmouth-Columbia meet will be Yale’s first scored match of the season.