MOUNT VERNON – Cornell seniors Gabe Soda, Gabe Hunt, Isaak Hutchings and Fisher Isaacson were looking to break the school record in the men's 4x800 relay in their final home indoor meet at Saturday's Hilltop Invitational in the arena of the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
As Isaacson crossed the finished line, coaches and teammates were all watching the time clock to see if a school indoor track record was set. When a time of 7:58.25 flashed on the time clock, the group of seniors started jumping for joy. The quartet broke the record of 7:59.70 that was set in 2010.
 
Not to be outdone, junior Isaac VanWestrienen broke his own school record of 8:09.60 in the 3000-meter run, with a time of 8:09.42. VanWestrienen's time shattered the SAW Arena record by 21 seconds (Loras's Dan Winder, 2010). His time ranks No. 2 nationally in NCAA Division III indoors this season.
 
Cornell's men finished in third place with 106 points, capturing four event titles. Also capturing titles were Jensen Meeker in the 400 with a quick time of 50.53, and the 1600 sprint medley relay team of Dalles Hernandez, Chase Staker, Currey Jacobs and Jamie Briggs with a time of 3:45.27.
 
Gathering second place finishes for the Rams were Hadley Beaty in the long jump (21-2.75). In the weight throw, Brody Williams threw 53-7 to capture a second-place finish and the 4x400 team of Beaty, Jaxin McGuire, Jacobs and Meeker finished second with a time of 3:29.10.
 
Taking home third place finishes for the men were Soda in the mile (4:23.88) and the 4x200 team of Niko Platre, Hernandez, Tyler Lockaby and Staker with a time of 1:35.16.
 
Cornell's women had six event champions, finishing second with 117 points.  Leading the Rams was Hailey Carolan placing first in the high jump (5-5) and second in the 60 hurdles (9.80).
 
Also capturing first place finishes were Sophie Stumbo in the 5000 meters with a time of 20:44.09. Freshman Carley Seeley captured the title in the mile (5:34.91). Willow Ziegler won the 400-meter race in a time of 1:04.57.
 
The sprint medley relay of Robyn Mar, Annie Quesnell, Jillian Shriver and Murray Page captured first place in a time of 4:54.09. The 4x400 team of Ziegler, Carolan, Alexa Hugart and Ava Claussen-Tubbs finished the women's meet off with a first-place time of 4:16.06.
 
The Rams picked up a second-place finish from 800-meter runner Claussen-Tubbs with a time of 2:19.16.
 
Finishing with third-place finishes for the Cornell women were Alyza Koppes in the 3000 (10:52.28) and Zoe Peesel in the 5000 (21:15.32).
 
Coming up – The Rams compete next Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Spartan Shootout in Dubuque. The event starts at 10 a.m.