FINAL RESULTS
BELOIT, Wis. – Senior
Jacob Engelken became Cornell's first-ever male athlete to sweep both hurdles events in the same conference meet as the Rams capped a terrific weekend with a runner-up team finish at the Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Â
Engelken shattered his lifetime-bests in winning the 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles, achieving the rare gold-medal double in a span of about 70 minutes Saturday afternoon inside Strong Stadium Complex.
Â
The Rams delivered seven all-conference efforts on Day 2, including an 800 victory from freshman
Isaak Hutchings – the MWC Men's Most Outstanding Newcomer – that propelled coach
Michael Friess' squad to second place in the final team standings with 140 points.
Â
Cornell equaled its highest outdoor conference team finish since winning it all in 1988. Ripon won the team crown with 158 points. The Rams beat perennial power Monmouth by 14 points.
Â
Engelken captured the 110 hurdles title with a swift time of 15.79, defeating Ripon's runner-up Nate Wosmek by .08 seconds. Engelken's mark ranks No. 5 on Cornell's all-time list.
Â
Engelken had plenty left in the tank for a convincing championship victory in the 400 hurdles, crossing with a time of 56.45 that is fourth-fastest in school history. Engelken topped his previous-best mark by nearly two full seconds. Monmouth runner-up Reed Bona finished a distant 1.32 seconds behind. Â Â
Â
Engelken, the 2022 indoor champion in the 60 hurdles, finished his career with three MWC titles and seven all-conference medals.
Â
Hutchings concluded a sensational freshman campaign with a tightly-contested win in the 800, his fourth MWC individual title in 2022. He clocked a season-best time of 1:55.91 – the sixth-fastest in program history. Grinnell's Zach Willis was second in 1:56.25.
Â
Hutchings won the 1500 on Friday.
Â
The Rams scored 14 points in the 5000, led by a runner-up effort from sophomore
Emery Bird in 15:42.31. Senior
Aaron Davidson took third (15:44.78) for his 10th career all-MWC track medal, six of them gold. Â Â
Â
Freshman sprinter
Felix Owusu Ansah enjoyed his best weekend as a Ram, stamped with a runner-up performance in the 100. He posted an impressive time of 10.88, the third-fastest on Cornell's all-time list.
Â
Owusu Ansah also placed fourth in the 200 (22.77) and ran the opening leg on the fifth-place 4x100 relay (43.29) that included Sam O'Hara, Engelken and
Nathan Watters.
Â
Brad Pace collected his second all-MWC award of the meet by taking third in the shot put (44-5.50).
Brock Flack was fourth (43-7.25) and Watters eighth (40-4.25).
Â
Gabe Soda finished fourth in the 800 (1:57.06). Hutchings anchored the seventh-place 4x400 relay of Engelken, Soda and Watters in 3:32.66.
Â