The Tartan

By Cole Skuse

Men’s Track and Field

The Carnegie Mellon men’s track and field team headed to Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 3, for the 15th annual Battle for the Obelisk. 

In the pole vault, second-year Christian Duckworth placed first after clearing 4.61 meters, a Carnegie Mellon record. In second place clearing 4.37 meters was first-year Ryan Handron, while first-year Solomon Glavach took third with 4.27 meters. In the weight throw, third-year Cody Breidenback took first with a toss of 16.09 meters, second-year Samuel Alligood placed second with 14.45., and fourth-year Bailey O’Malley won third with a distance of 14.39 meters, also taking first in the shot put with a mark of 15.01 meters. 

The Tartans also swept the long jump, with second-year Morgan Johnson placing first with a mark of 6.62 meters. Third-year Sebastian Sanso took second with a jump of 6.49 meters while fourth-year Thomas Rich finished third with a mark of 6.41 meters. Sanso also took first in the high jump after clearing 1.90 meters, and Rich finished second after clearing 1.85 meters. The Tartans recorded another sweep in the triple jump, with third-year Luke Blackwell in first with a jump of 13.73 meters, Johnson in second with a jump of 13.64 meters, and Sanso in third with a jump of 13.48 meters. 

Turning to the track, many Tartans earned points for the team. In the 3,000-meter run, third-year Matthew Coyle took first with a time of 8:31.26; behind him was fourth-year Jacob Hsu with a time of 8:38.48, and in third with fourth-year Matthew Porter with a time of 8:43.25. In the 60-meter hurdles, Rich took first with a time of 8.50 seconds. In the 60-meter dash, second-year Jacob Kelly placed second with a time of 7.11. 

Turning to the mile run, third-year Colin McLaughlin took first with a time of 4:15:58, first-year Matthew Short took second with 4:17.09, and third-year Eamon Brady took third with 4:18.41. In the 400-meter dash, fourth-year Leland Davies crossed the line first with a time of 51.12. Fourth-year Andrew McGovern took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.78. In the 5,000-meter run, fourth-year David Durdaller finished second 14:57.74. 

The combined efforts of the Tartans earned them a 95.5-40.5 win over Case Western Reserve, and a combined score with the women’s track and field team of 172.5-98, the Tartan’s seventh-straight Obelisk title. 

Women’s track and field

On Feb. 3, Carnegie Mellon women’s track and field also competed in the Battle for the Obelisk.

In the 3,000-meter run, the Tartans recorded a sweep with second-year Orit Shiang taking first with a time of 10:26.18. Behind her in second was third-year Lauren May with a time of 10:46.74, and first-year Ananya Devpura crossed the finish line third with a time of 10:52.63. The Tartans also took the top three spots in the 5,000-meter run thanks to third-years Alyssa Hoffman and Avery Tompkins, and fourth-year Sophia Zalewski, with times of 18:04.04, 18:13.62, and 18:17.41, respectively. 

Fourth-year Liz Barre took first in three events on the track: 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.93, 60-meter dash with a time of 7.94, and 200-meter dash with a time of 26.36. In the mile run, second-year Margaret Ann Healy finished second with a time of 5:18.32. In the 400-meter dash, fourth-year Isabella Rhee took second with a time of 1:00.59. Second-year Jacqueline Liu took first 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.98.

In the long jump, the Tartans swept. Barre led the field with a mark of 5.48 meters, followed by second-year Iniyaa Mahanraj with a 5.17-meter jump, and third-year Jocelyn Kiefel took third with 5.14 meters. Kiefel also took second in the triple jump with a mark of 11.05 meters. 

In the pole vault, first-year Hazel Buonopane took second after clearing 3.39 meters. In the high jump, first-year Samantha Lee took first with a mark of 1.30 meters while second-year Zoe King earned second, also clearing 1.30 meters. In the shot put, third-year Taylor Symonette took second with a 11.50-meter throw. 

The Tartans beat the Spartans 77-58. The combined efforts of the men’s and women’s teams gave the Tartans a 172.5-98 victory, their seventh straight Battle for the Obelisk win. The team’s next meet will be at Boston University on Friday, Feb. 9. 

Men’s Basketball

On Sunday, Jan. 28, the Tartans traveled to the University of Chicago to end their four-game UAA road trip. 

The Tartans took a slight lead early in the game thanks to a three-pointer from second-year Justin Allen, but a 10-0 run by the Maroons put the Tartans behind 14-7. The Tartans went on a 10-2 run and regained the lead, 17-16. They lost that edge and did not mount a comeback before the half, leaving them behind 42-33 when the clock hit zero. The Tartans started their comeback halfway through the second half, when they went on a 15-4 run and took a four-point lead over UChicago, making it 63-59 with just under seven minutes left in play. Unfortunately, Carnegie Mellon did not hold this lead and lost 84-75. 

On Friday, the Tartans were looking to get revenge on the 17th-ranked Washington University at St. Louis, who had beat Carnegie Mellon the previous Friday. In the first half, a combination of strong offense and defense let the Tartans have a 41-29 lead over the Bears going into the half. This was due to a 15-0 run by the Tartans, including 11 straight points from third-year Aidan Booher. Coming back from the break, the Bears managed to bring it to within five points, and the Tartans fell behind halfway through the second half. The Tartans managed to pulling ahead once again and beat the Bears 79-73.

After this game, the Tartans moved to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in conference play. They took on the University of Chicago at home this past Sunday, which will be covered in next week’s issue of The Tartan. The men’s basketball team will next travel to Brandeis University on Friday, Feb. 9 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

Women’s Basketball

On Friday, Jan. 28, the Carnegie Mellon women’s basketball took on University of Chicago. 

With 4:50 left in the first quarter, the Tartans had a 15-11 lead. However, the Maroons went on a 10-0 run, putting the Tartans behind 21-15 when the clock hit zero. The Tartans regained the lead over a 13-4 run in the first part of the second quarter, making it 28-25. The rest of the second quarter was a back-and-forth struggle that ended with UChicago having a one-point edge at the half, 33-23. 

Coming back from the half, the Maroons kept their lead, though third-year Catherine Or scored her 1,000th career point that stopped a two-minute Tartan scoring drought. However, the Tartans wouldn’t recover this frame and were outscored 17-10, making it 50-42 overall. The last quarter was a similar story, with the Tartans falling further behind, losing the game 72-58.

On Friday, Feb. 2, the Tartans returned home to host Washington University at St. Louis, which had beaten Carnegie Mellon the previous week 90-81. 

The Tartans had an early lead over the Bears thanks to a 13-0 run in the middle of the first quarter, making it 19-7. Washington scored the last seven points of the first quarter, making it 19-14 at the end of the first. In the second quarter, the Tartans kept their edge, and still led 37-28 going into the half. The Tartans kept up their scoring in the third quarter as well, outscoring Washington 21-15. However, the Tartans fell short in the fourth frame and lost the momentum they had going in the first three quarters. The Bears went on a 20-4 run to take the lead. Though the Tartans were able to tie it up at 69, they ultimately fell short, 71-69. 

These losses have put the Tartans at 10-9 for the season and 2-6 in UAA play. They took on the University of Chicago at home this past Sunday, which will be covered in next week’s issue of The Tartan. The men’s basketball team will next travel to Brandeis University on Friday, Feb. 9.