TRACK AND FIELD: Bulldogs prepare for postseason push
Yale’s track and field teams split up for the second weekend in a row, with some going to Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational and others competing in Yale’s 16th Giegengack Invitational.
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On Saturday, Yale’s track and field teams continued their hiatus from team competitions, again splitting up the team between two meets — one at Boston University for the second weekend in a row and the other hosted by Yale at Coxe Cage in New Haven.
In the last set of competitions before the indoor season concludes at the Ivy League Indoor Track & Field Championships, many Yale athletes have had their best performances of the season to date. With many personal records across the board for both the men’s and women’s teams, Yale looks to be peaking at just the right time.
“We are certainly moving in a positive direction and now our job is to stay healthy and sharpen up prior to the Ivy Championships,” coach David Shoehalter said. “This past weekend our goal was to find the best competitive opportunity for each athlete, whether that was here in Coxe Cage or up in Boston. The team really took advantage of those chances and it showed in our performance.”
On the men’s side of events, many athletes altered the Elis’ record books, setting PRs and moving up the ranks of Yale’s all-time best performances. Starting things off, Jacob Kao ’25 ran a 21.45 in the 200m dash, putting his name at number two on Yale’s 200m record holders. Next up was Cade Brown ’23, who clocked in at a remarkable 14:08 in the 5K to also land at number two on Yale’s all-time list for the event. Brian Di Bassinga ’26 also moved closer to being Yale’s all-time leading triple-jumper, jumping 15.22m — less than an inch away from placing number two in all-time school history.
Drake Prince ’24 came closest of all in the 800m with a time of 1:49.29, less than five-hundredths of a second shy of Yale’s all-time record.
“Although it is slightly maddening to run so close to the record and not break it, this performance brings a lot of confidence heading into the Ivy League championships,” Prince told the News. “Running sub 1:50 in the 800 informs me that I am fast enough to compete with the best in the Ivy League.”
The women’s side of events was also characterized by several personal records. Samantha Friborg ’23 started things off with an indoor record of 2:05.57 in the 800m, putting her less than one second shy of first in Yale’s record book for the event. In the 400m, Bridget Vitu ’25, Sydney McCord ’24 and Iris Bergman ’25 all also notched personal bests. Other PRs for the Eli’s women’s team included Maria Leskovec ’24 in the weight throw and Kiera Suh ’26 in the long jump.
With two more weeks of training ahead before competing in the championship, many Yale athletes have their sights set high.
“My personal goal for the end of the indoor season is to be a scorer for our team at the Ivy League Championships, which means I will need to finish in the top six of my race,” Cade Brown ’23 wrote to the News. “That being said, there will be plenty of people slated to run the 5k who are more than capable of breaking 14 minutes, so the more I can stay engaged in the race and respond to the moves that are made, breaking 14 minutes is within the realm of possibility.”
In the meantime, Yale has a weekend off to recover before they head to Hanover, New Hampshire for the Ivy League Championships.