Sports Shorts

CROSS COUNTRY: Men’s cross country won the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship and the women’s team finished third at Van Cortlandt Park on October 30. Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Daniel Ireland was unanimously voted Ivy League Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. Leading the men’s team were Aubrey Myjer ’16 (third overall) and Jack Boyle ’17 (seventh), both of whom earned All-Ivy first-team honors, while Tait Rutherford ’16 (ninth) ran his way to the second team. Tops among the women were Olivia Sadler ’16 (ninth) and Leila Mantilla ’16 (14th), who earned second team all-conference honors.

MEILI: Katie Meili ’13 won three medals at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto in July, including gold medals in the 100m breaststroke and 4x100m medley relay, both in event-record times. She also won silver in the 400m freestyle relay. On September 1, Meili was among 107 members named by USA Swimming to the 2015–16 U.S. National Team, where she joins such stars of the sport as Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecky, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps. Meili hopes to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Friday, August 5–Sunday, August 21; she’ll attempt to qualify for the team at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Sunday, June 26–Sunday, July 3.

FOOTBALL PODCAST: WNYC, New York’s public radio station, this fall produced the podcast “The Season,” following the Columbia football team under new coach Al Bagnoli as it attempted to bounce back from two winless seasons. Host Ilya Marritz and the producers had extensive access to players, coaches, alumni and University officials, including trustee emeritus and former coach Bill Campbell ‘62, TC‘64, who spoke on the October 1 episode about why football matters. “It is the ultimate team game,” Campbell said. “You cannot be successful without a team all operating on the same page. When you snap the ball, when you play defense, when you do everything that you need to do, 11 people all have to be in coordination and in sync.”