Tag: Mens

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Men’s Track & Field Scores in Five Events on Friday, Sits in Third Place at BIG EAST Championships – Villanova University

CHICAGO, Ill.—Villanova tallied team points in all five events that were scored on Friday and is currently in third place in the team standings after one day of competition at the 2022 BIG EAST Track & Field Championships Presented by JEEP. Nearly two years since the last indoor BIG EAST meet the Wildcats recorded strong performances in the 5000 meters and the distance medley relay on the track as well as in the weight throw, long jump and pole vault inside the Track & Field Complex at Gately Park in Chicago.
 
The highlight of the day for Villanova was awards podium finishes for junior Haftu Strintzos (Melbourne, Australia) in the 5000 meters and graduate Michael Troup (Doylestown, Pa.) in the long jump. Senior pole vaulter Jim Keys (Herndon, Va.) and graduate thrower Riley LaRiviere (Telford, Pa.) came in fifth in their respective events, while the distance medley relay squad notched another fifth place finish in the final event of the afternoon.
 
Strintzos raced in the 5000 meters which was the only individual track event to be scored during Friday’s action. He came in third to earn a bronze medal and senior Josh Phillips (Belrose, Australia) added a sixth place finish to give the Wildcats two scorers in the event. It was a grueling race in which each of the top four finishers eclipsed the previous BIG EAST meet record of 13:51.23 set in 2018.
 
This is the second time that Strintzos has medaled in the 5000 meters at the indoor BIG EAST Championships, as he also came in third two years ago at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. His time on Friday was nearly 30 seconds faster than the one he posted in 2020 and he crossed the finish line in 13:48.72 to also come within less than 1.5 seconds of his lifetime best mark set during the 2021 outdoor campaign. Phillips finished sixth overall in 14:12.19 and is also a two-time BIG EAST scorer in the 5K; he placed seventh at the outdoor conference championships last Spring.
 
Villanova wrapped up competition on the first day of the meet with a lineup of graduate Nick Steele (Harvard, Mass.), sophomore Nicholas Mollica (Jackson, N.J.), junior Miller Anderson (West Hartford, Conn.) and redshirt freshman Jack Jennings (Mendham, N.J.) running in the distance medley relay. They combined for a time of 9:56.46 and a fifth place finish in the race, with Jennings closing strong with a 4:10.63 anchor leg for the final 1600 meter. Steele led off the relay with a split of 3:04.11 over 1200 meters followed by Mollica (49.75) and Anderson (1:52.00) on the 400 and 800 meter legs, respectively.
 
Troup surpassed seven meters in the long jump for the first time this season to return to the awards podium. He matched his third place finish from the 2020 indoor BIG EAST meet and is now an eight-time individual scorer at the conference championships during his career. Troup also recorded a time of 7.14 in the preliminary heats of the 60 meters on Friday and had the fastest time that did not advance to the final.
 
The first field event to get underway on Friday was the pole vault and Keys finished fifth after clearing the bar at a height of 4.60 meters. He started the day with a successful clearance at the opening height of 4.45 meters on his first try, then made it over the bar at 4.60 meters on his second attempt. There were five competitors left in the competition when the bar was raised to 4.75 meters and Keys missed on his three attempts at that height.
 
One of the newest Wildcats had a successful BIG EAST debut as LaRiviere finished fifth in the weight throw. A midseason graduate transfer from Lehigh, LaRiviere recorded top mark of 16.64 meters on the day. He was a steady performer, with his first attempt of the meet going for 16.10 meters to put him into fifth place and secure a spot he would hold for the duration of the competition. LaRiviere was one of nine athletes who advanced from the initial round of three throws to take three more attempts, and he posted the mark of 16.54 meters on his fourth throw.
 
Villanova qualified a total of five athletes for the final in the Mile and the 800 meters after those events had preliminary heats on Friday afternoon. Sophomore Sean Dolan (Pennington, N.J.) had the fastest qualifying time in the 800 meters after he won his heat in 1:50.79 to automatically move on to Saturday’s final; the top time in the second of two heats was a nearly identical 1:50.80. Dolan leads the BIG EAST this season with a time of 1:48.11 in the 800 meters.
 
The quartet of senior Charlie O’Donovan (Cork, Ireland), redshirt freshman Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.), senior Patrick Spychalski (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) and Steele will represent the Wildcats in the final of the Mile. O’Donovan and Murphy raced in the first of two preliminary heats and secured automatic qualifying spots in the final with times of 4:21.75 and 4:21.85, respectively. They finished second and third in their heat, while Spychalski and Steele advanced on time out of the second heat with respective times of 4:17.82 and 4:18.51.
 
Competition begins on Saturday with the unseeded section of the 3000 meters at 11:40 a.m. Eastern time (10:40 a.m. Central time) followed by the final of the Mile at 12 p.m. Eastern time. The first field event to get underway on Saturday is the triple jump at Noon Eastern.

 

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Men’s hockey final among last few events

Men’s hockey final among last few events

BEIJING — Finland has never won an Olympic gold medal in hockey.

To break that drought, the Finns will have to beat the defending champion Russians — the team that, if you include all of its various designations, has won as many Olympic titles in men’s hockey as anyone.

All of the remaining medals at the Beijing Games are part of Saturday’s TV coverage in the U.S. — if you count the wee hours of Sunday morning, when the women’s 30-kilometer cross-country skiing race will be on. The men’s hockey final, as usual, will be a highlight. Also, American Elana Meyers Taylor has a chance to medal in the women’s bobseld.

Here are some things to watch:

HOCKEY: The Soviet Union won seven gold medals in men’s hockey, the Unified Team won one, and the Olympic Athletes from Russia won in 2018. Add all that up, and that’s nine gold medals for Russian hockey in various forms — the same number as Canada.

The Russians are competing this year as Russian Olympic Committee because Russia’s name and flag were banned as part of the fallout from the country’s doping scandal.

The Russians go for another hockey gold when they face Finland in the gold medal game, which is set to air live on USA Network at 11:10 p.m. The bronze medal game between Sweden and Slovakia is live on CNBC at 8 a.m.

The Finns famously lost to the U.S. in 1980 in the game that clinched the gold for the Americans. Finland won silver in 1988 in 2006.

BOBSLED: The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced that Meyers Taylor — who has hinted she might retire after these Games — would carry the American flag into Sunday night’s closing ceremony. She was supposed to be one of the flagbearers at the opening ceremony, but she couldn’t do it because she was in isolation after a positive COVID-19 test. She got out in time to compete.

The women’s bobsled will be in the morning on USA Network. The final run of the four-man bobsled will be live on NBC in prime time, and an encore presentation of the women’s event will be on NBC in prime time as well.

Meyers Taylor is third at the midway point of the women’s bobsled. She already took silver in the monobob, finishing behind U.S. teammate Kaillie Humphries. Humphries is fifth in the women’s bobsled after two runs.

FIGURE SKATING: Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China set a world record with their short program, and they lead Russians Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov heading into the pairs’ free skate. That will be live on USA Network at 6 a.m., and NBC will show it in prime time.

The figure skating gala will be live on NBC’s late-night coverage.

Sui and Han won silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

CURLING: Sweden finished second in the men’s curling tournament in 2018, losing to the U.S. in the final. Now skip Niklas Edin, who also won bronze in 2014, has another chance for gold against Britain. That match will be on USA Network live early in the morning.

The women’s final between Britain and Japan will be live on CNBC at 8 p.m. The women’s bronze medal match between Sweden and Switzerland will be on USA Network.



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Canada’s Steven Dubois wins bronze in men’s 500-metre short-track event – Beijing 2022

Canada's Steven Dubois wins bronze in men's 500-metre short-track event - Beijing 2022

Had Steven Dubois been told two weeks ago that he’d be a double Olympic medallist at his first Games, he would have never believed it. 

Dubois, 24, captured his second short-track speedskating medal of the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, with a bronze medal in the men’s 500-metre final.

The 24-year-old from Terrebonne, Que., flashed a grin and a thumbs-up as he stepped on the podium after finishing third behind Shaoang Liu of Hungary and Konstantin Ivliev of Russia. 

It was the second medal for the first-time Olympian, who won silver in the 1,500-metre event last week. 

He came into the Olympics with a lower profile than some of his more veteran short-track teammates but has emerged a star, surprising even himself.

“I had never really proven myself in the big events,” he said. “I won individual medals at the World Cup, but I went to the world championships twice and only had a fourth place in the 500 metres.”

Liu finished in a time of 40.338, just ahead of Ivliev at 40.431. Dubois finished in 40.669. 

Dubois was advanced to the A final after the judges determined he’d been bumped by South Korea’s Hwang Daeheon in his semifinal heat. 

In the final, he settled into third place early and defended his position to the end.

Sébastien Cros, the head coach of the Canadian team, noted that Dubois appeared serene in the last few days. Dubois admitted that the silver medal he won in the 1,500-metre event had taken some of the pressure off his shoulders. 

“I was stressed to do well in the 500 metres, but the pressure of coming home with a medal was gone,” he said. “I think I was more lucid.”

Before the final, Dubois said he went through his recovery and sharpened his skates. Then he sat in his chair, waiting. 

“I was physically and mentally fit,” he said. “I knew what I wanted to do. It was clear. 

“The pressure was less strong. I did exactly what I wanted to do and it gave me a third place.”

Dubois said he was in a little bit of shock after his 1,500-metre medal. This time, he felt more relief. 

“It’s the distance I concentrated on during training,” he said of the 500 metres. “To know I’ve finally proved that I have my place among the best at this distance, that I’ve succeeded in shining at this distance in a major competition, it’s a relief. I’m looking forward to reuniting with my teammates to celebrate.”

Fellow Canadian Jordan Pierre-Gilles was eliminated earlier after falling in the quarterfinals. 

Earlier Sunday, the Canadian women’s 3,000-metre relay team failed to reach the podium. 

The quartet composed of Kim Boutin, Alyson Charles, Courtney Sarault and Florence Brunelle finished fourth. 

The Dutch team won the gold medal in a time of 4:03.409.

South Korea earned silver and China took bronze.

While there have been some successes, it’s been a difficult Olympics for Canada’s speedskaters thus far. Boutin’s bronze in the women’s 500 metres is the only other medal won so far. 

She and Sarault will get a chance to finish on a high note in the final of the women’s 1,500 metres on Wednesday. Danaé Blais will also skate.

“For the moment, we have six finals and three medals. The girls have potential in the 1,500 metres. We want to maximize the chances we have, even if it’s difficult,” Cros said. 

He said that while he’s satisfied for now, the Canadians remain hungry for more.

“For me, each time we’re in a final, it’s to win a medal,” he said, pointing out that there are more events to come. 

“For the girls, tonight, it’s a disappointment, it’s normal,” he added. “We’ll let this pass, then we’ll prepare for the final day.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2022. 

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Weather delays 2nd run of men’s giant slalom

Weather delays 2nd run of men's giant slalom

The second run of the Olympic men’s giant slalom has been postponed amid heavy snowfall and low visibility at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center.

Marco Odermatt of Switzerland has a lead of 0.04 seconds over Stefan Brennsteiner of Austria and 0.08 over world champion Mathieu Faivre of France after the first run.

It is the first time snow has fallen during an Alpine skiing race at the Beijing Olympics.

Snow has been falling since Saturday at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center, where athletes had been racing and training on artificial snow. A second women’s downhill training run scheduled for Sunday was canceled.

The skiers said it is tough to see but good enough to race in.

Fourth-placed Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway said, “The light is more than skiable,” but added, “It just makes it difficult.”

Earlier, the second women’s downhill training run for American racer Mikaela Shiffrin, Italy’s Sofia Goggia and other Alpine skiers also was canceled because of snowfall.

A downhill race has faster speeds than the giant slalom and so is more dangerous to ski when visibility is poor.

Snow began falling Saturday at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center during the first women’s downhill practice session and continued into Sunday morning.

There is another downhill training scheduled for Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s race.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Men’s Track & Field Competes at Monmouth & Rutgers Events – Manhattan College Athletics

Men's Track & Field Competes at Monmouth & Rutgers Events - Manhattan College Athletics

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The men’s track and field team competed at the Monmouth Invitational and the Rutgers Open on Friday.
 
At the Monmouth Invitational, Jackson Heft was 10th in the pole vault after clearing 3.95m.
 
At the Rutgers Open, RJ Decker continued his winning ways. The sophomore is undefeated when he records a mark. On Friday, Decker established a new personal best with a 19.00m throw to win.
 
In the college division at Rutgers, Joseph Pelio was sixth (14.98m) and Pete Athanailos was 12th (11.88m).
 
The Jaspers will compete at the same two events tomorrow.