CMU sports round up: Track and field continue to break records
Men’s Basketball
The Carnegie Mellon men’s basketball team hosted the 24th-ranked Emory Eagles this past Friday, Feb. 10.
The first half was a back-and-forth between the Tartans and Eagles, with a total of six lead changes and four ties. A 10-3 run by the Tartans in a two-minute and 23-second span gave the Tartans a 33-32 lead that they kept until Emory tied it up with 31 seconds left in the first half. The second half was much the same story: there were six lead changes and one tie. Though the Eagles started the second half with a 6-0 run, the Tartans regained the lead thanks to a three-pointer from senior Nick Nakasian, which put the team up 48-47.
The struggle between the teams continued until late into the second half. With 57 seconds left in play, Carnegie Mellon trailed Emory by one. However, a two-pointer from junior R.J. Holmes and two free throws from junior Jack Stone gave the Tartans a three-point lead that the Tartans kept for the rest of the game. As the clock hit zero, the score showed 63-60 in favor of Carnegie Mellon.
Looking to keep their win streak at home alive, the Tartans hosted the University of Rochester on Sunday, Feb. 12.
Much like their previous game, the Tartans started out in a back-and-forth fashion; the lead changed five times in the first 14 minutes of play. With 5:56 left, senior Josh Berry completed a layup and gave the Tartans a 28-27 advantage. However, these would be the last points of the half for The Tartans. The Yellowjackets went on a 15-0 run to close the half, making it 42-28 to close the half.
Rochester continued their run into the second half, scoring seven to the Tartan’s two. However, Carnegie Mellon started to stage a comeback. In the next six minutes, the Tartans went 13-5. With 4:24 left in play, the scoreboard read 74-64. But with less than a minute remaining, the Tartans were able to close the gap to just three points, 74-71. However, a series of fouls on both sides at the end resulted in a final score of 82-78 in favor of Rochester.
These two games have moved the Tartans to 15-7 for the season and 7-4 in conference play. For their next game, the team will be traveling to the University of Chicago on Friday, Feb. 17 for a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff.
Women’s Basketball
On Friday, Feb. 10, the women’s basketball team hosted the Emory Eagles in Wiegand Gymnasium.
After the first two minutes of play, the Tartans had a promising 9-2 lead over the Eagles. This lead widened to 14 points with 2:11 left to go in the quarter. However, the Eagles were able to regain a little bit of ground, and by the end of the quarter, the scoreboard read 22-11 Tartans. The Tartans continued their strong play into the second quarter, but did let up a little. They scored 14 to Emory’s 16, making it 36-27 at the break.
However, the Eagles started to stage their comeback in the second half when they opened with a 9-2 run, which then ran into a 16-6 run. This gave Emory the lead, 43-42, with 3:32 left to go in the third quarter. With the Tartans only scoring 10 in the third quarter, they were now behind, 51-46. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles widened their lead to double-digits, but the Tartans managed to bring it back to six points. However, the Eagles finished the game 11 ahead of the Tartans, 70-59.
On Sunday, Feb. 12, the women’s basketball team hosted 25th-ranked University of Rochester in Wiegand Gymnasium.
The Yellowjackets took an early 8-0 lead over the Tartans, which caused an early Tartan timeout. Though the Tartans would be behind by 10 twice in the first quarter, the Tartans would be behind 19-11 the first time the clock hit zero. The second quarter was much of the same; the Tartans were unable to get an edge on the Yellowjackets and finished the half behind, 35-23.
The second half was a slightly different story for the Tartans. In the third quarter, they were able to hold their own, scoring 19 to Rochester’s 20. In the fourth quarter, however, the Tartans were able to recover some lost ground, but it wasn’t enough. With just over 2 minutes left in the game, the Tartans began an 8-0 run that ended with 48 seconds to go. As the Yellowjackets let the clock run out, the scoreboard read 68-60 in favor of the visitors.
With these two losses, the women’s basketball team is now 11-11 overall and 2-9 in conference play. They will next be facing the University of Chicago on Friday, Feb. 17 when they travel to the Windy City for a 5:30 CT tipoff.
Men’s Track and Field
This past Saturday, members of the Carnegie Mellon men’s track and field team traveled to the Joe LaRocco Invitational in Salem, Va., hosted by Roanoke College. Members of the team also traveled to the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational over the weekend.
At Boston University, a number of Tartans found success in their events. In the distance medley relay, the team of sophomore Eamon Brady, junior Andrew McGovern, junior Alex Invanov, and sophomore Colin McLaughlin set the school record with a time of 9:53.95. McGoven also individually claimed a school record in the 800-meter run when he crossed the finish line in 1:51.08. Additionally, McLaughlin claimed his own school record when he bested his previous record in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 8:15.35. Senior Elijah Sech and Brady also competed in the 3,00-meter race, where they finished with times of 8:17.91 and 8:32.96, respectively. Senior Alex Halkias also competed and got a personal-best indoor time of 22.29 in the 200-meter dash.
Like those at Boston, Tartans in Virginia also took spots on the podium in their events. In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Thomas Rich broke his previous record with a time of 8.34, which gave him the win. Behind him, sophomore Mich Nowlin finished fourth with a time of 8.89. In the mile, junior Jacob Hsu claimed first with a time of 4:24.30. Junior Charlie Murphy took first for the Tartans in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:57.79. First-year Gaven Williams took fifth in the 400-meter race with a 52.17.
On the field, sophomore Cody Breidenbach won the weight throw with a mark of 18.61 meters, while senior Bailey O’Malley placed fourth with a mark of 15.19 meters. O’Malley, however, took first in the shot put with a throw of 15.24 meters while Breidenbach took sixth with a throw of 13.77 meters. Sophomore Ethan Higgs took second in the high jump, clearing 1.88 meters, which Rich took fifth with a height of 1.83 meters. In the triple jump, sophomore Sebastian Sanso took fourth with a leap of 13.06 meters while first-year Morgan Johnson placed just behind with a jump of 13.03 meters. In pole vault, first-year Christian Duckworth placed second when he cleared 4.35 meters while fellow first-year Harrison Hayward cleared 4.05 meters, placing fourth.
The team’s results at the Joe LaRocco Invitational earned them first out of ten teams with a total of 123.5 points. The team will next be competing at the Penn State Tune Up on Friday, Feb. 17 and the Mount Union Tune Up on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Women’s Track and Field
The Carnegie Mellon women’s track and field team competed at the Joe LaRocco Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 11 in Salem, Va., which was hosted by Roanoke College. Two members of the team also competed in the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Friday, Feb. 10.
At the Valentine Invitational, senior Mona Yuan ran a person-best time in the 800-meter run, finishing with a time of 2:19.88. Senior Samantha Giordani competed in the 200-meter dash and recorded a time of 24.82, which was only .04 off her school record time she set earlier this season.
At the LaRocco Invitational, a number of Tartans placed in the top ten. In the mile, first-year Margaret Ann Healy took first with a season-best 5:19.42 while graduate student Kristen Seballos took sixth with a time of 5:28.88. In the 800-meter run, senior Kavya Tummalapalli took second with a time of 2:24.85. Junior Megan Baker crossed the finish line second in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:00.62. In the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Allison Silva took seventh after crossing the finish line in 9.72.
In the triple jump, sophomore Jocelyn Kiefel took third and first-year Iniyaa Mohanraj took fifth with marks of 10.49 meters and 10.35 meters, respectively. In the shot put, sophomore Katie Monahan won with a mark of 11.94 meters while senior Ola Owodunni took fourth with a throw of 11.04 meters. Monahan also took fifth in the weight throw with a career-best throw of 13.41.
The combined efforts of the women’s track and field team at the LaRocco Invitational earned them third out of 10 teams with a total of 75 points. They will next be competing at the Penn State Tune Up on Friday, Feb. 17 and the Mount Union Tune Up on Saturday, February 18.