Success for Syracuse

By Mathew Shadle

The Syracuse Track and Field Teams were in action at the 2011 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in Villanova, Pennsylvania.  The Orange Women finished the three-day event in seventh place overall, while the Orange Men finished in ninth.  Here are the highlights from the past three days.

Friday 5/6

Senior Kelsey Rubeor started off strong, taking the lead in the women’s heptathlon.  After four events Rubeor had a total of 3,328 points, highlighted by winning the shot put with a throw of 13.82.

Saturday 5/7

Rubeor continued her dominance and became the BIG EAST Champion in the heptathlon.  She put an exclamation point on her performance by winning two of the remaining three events, the javelin and long jump.  Rubeor finished the heptathlon with 5,680 points, the second highest score in BIG EAST history.

Rubeor wasn’t the only Syracuse athlete experiencing success.  Tito Medrano retained the crown of BIG EAST Champion in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 29:34.06 improving on last years BIG EAST Championship time of 29:38.20.

Sunday 5/8

Junior Ieva Staponkute became the third champion for Syracuse at the 2011 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships by winning the women’s triple jump, securing the top spot with a jump of 12.81 meters.

The Orange Track and Field Teams will be in action next weekend at the ECAC-IC4A Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Princeton University in Princeton, NJ.

SU Track and Field: A Successful Weekend

The SU Track and Field team was in action at two different meets this past weekend. The Orange competed in Ithaca, N.Y. at the Cornell Upstate Challenge, and a contingent of SU Track and Field athletes converged upon Princeton, N.J. for the Larry Ellis Memorial Invitational. Here’s a break down of the two meets:

Cornell Upstate Challenge

Junior Ieva Staponkute broke the facility record at Cornell with a BIG EAST and ECAC qualifying triple jump mark of 12.81 meters. This narrowly edged the old facility record of 12.55 meters.

Flings Owusu-Agyapong brought home a victory for the Orange in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.63 seconds. Also, Owusu-Agyapong took second place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.64. Both races met BIG EAST and ECAC qualifying standards.

Larry Ellis Memorial Invitational

The Orange women put on a show in the 3,000-meter steeplechase finishing with four runners in the top-six.

Senior Katie Hursey lead the charge with a personal-best of 10:13.39 to win the 3,00-meter steeplechase. This smashed her previous best by nearly 14 seconds. Hursey’s time is to date tops in the conference and puts her at eighth best in the nation. Her time also met BIG EAST and ECAC qualifying standards.

Orange Slice Sports' Co-Athletes of the Week

Katie Hursey - Hursey is a senior long-distance runner from Hampsted, Maryland. She has competed the past four years for the Track and Field team and has also ran for the Cross Country squad at Syracuse. However, this week may have been her best during her time on the hill. At the Larry Ellis Memorial Invitation this past weekend, Hursey performed extraordinarily. She won the 3,000 meter steeplechase title in only 10:13:39. In doing so, she qualified for the Big East Championship as well as the ECAC. Her time puts her on top of the Big East for that run and eighth in the country. Congratulations to Katie Hursey for beating her previous personal-best time by almost 14 seconds and winning Orange Slice Sports Co-Athlete of the Week.

Tee Ladouceur - Ladouceur is awarded the Orange Slice Sports Co-Athlete of the Week due to her strong play this past week for the Orange. Over the course of the week, in two games, she tallied 4 goals and 3 assists. Versus Louisville, Ladouceur capped off a Syracuse comeback by scoring with 49 seconds remaining in the game. On Senior Day in the Carrier Dome, Ladouceur keyed a blowout for the Orange by scoring 3 goals and handing out 3 assists. In doing so, she moved into sixth place on SU’s all-time scoring list.

This Week in SU Sports

Here is a look ahead at the upcoming SU sporting events this week:

Tuesday 4/26:

Softball vs. Georgetown (Double Header) 1 p.m.

-The SU Softball team takes on Big East foe Georgetown at the SU Softball Stadium looking to continue its momentum into the postseason.

Women's Lacrosse vs. Cornell 7 p.m.

-The SU Women's Lacrosse team faces Cornell in their last home game of the regular season.

Thursday 4/28:

Softball vs. Binghamton (Double Header) 3:30 p.m.

-The SU Softball team will go up against its I-81 rival the Binghamton Bearcats in Syracuse.

Track and Field @ Penn Relays (All Day)

The Track and Field team will head down to Philadelphia to compete it one of the most highly regarded track and field competitions in the country.

Tennis @ Big East Tournament

-The #7 seed SU Tennis Team will take on the #10 seed St. Johns hoping to capitalize on their successful season. The Big East Tournament is being hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

Friday 4/29:

Women's Lacrosse @ Loyola 7 p.m.

The SU Women's Lacrosse team will try to gain outright possession of second place in the Big East. The game will be played in Baltimore, MD.

Saturday 4/30:

Softball @ Seton Hall (Double Header) 12 p.m.

-The SU Softball team will head to New Jersey for a double header against Seton Hall.

Men's Lacrosse vs. #1 Notre Dame 7 p.m. - Game of the Week

The SU Men's Lacrosse team will face top-ranked Notre Dame in a game that will likely determine the top seed of the NCAA tournament. The winner will be crowned the Big East Champion.

Sunday 5/1

Track and Field @ Cornell 11 p.m.

-The SU Track and Field team will head to the Big Red Outdoor Invitational at Cornell.

Women's Lacrosse @ Villanova 12 p.m.

-The SU Women's Lacrosse team will take on Villanova in their final game of the regular season.

Softball @ Seton Hall 12 p.m.

-The SU Softball team will head to South Orange, NJ a Big East matchup against the Pirates.

Rowing @ Big East Championship in West Windsor, NJ

-The SU Women's Rowing team will try to upset the field at the Big East Championship.