Lions Roar At Mets

At the Metropolitan Championships at The Armory on Friday, the men from Manhattan College just edged Rutgers, 134-131 1/2, for the City title. But the Jaspers used an international contingent to rack up the points.

Sweden's Mikael Rojeras — already a two-time MAAC athlete of the week award winner — might have claimed a third by winning both the 800-meter (1:52.22) and mile runs (4:15.47). Though he wasn't the only double winner as Tom Bechert, a native of Munich, Germany, claimed the pole vault (16-1 3/4) and the long jump (22-7 3/4). The final individual winner for Manhattan was another Swede, Felix Siljeback-Larsen, who finished atop the heptathlon with 5,238 points.

The Columbia Lions were the women's champions, easily outpointing runner-up St. John's, 172-111 1/2. Six individuals and one relay took titles for the Light Blue. They were Marvellous Iheukwumere (200m, 24.29), Erin Gillingham (1k, 2:48.25), Mallory Anderson (mile, 4:58.92), Chelsea Carrick (5k, 17:18.72), Madelyn Magee (high jump, 5-5) and Nadia Eke (triple jump, 40-5 1/2) individually and the distance medley relay (11:46.07).

The highlight of the NYRR College Night at the Races was a non-college relay squad. The Eliot Track Club of Boston, Mass., came down with the goal of breaking the world masters record in the 4x800-meter relay.

While the 40-plus foursome of Chris Simpson, Scott Weeks, Mark Gomes and Eric Nedeau became the first team to break eight minutes in the event (7:58.12), the time will apparently count as a U.S. record, but not a world record (because no other masters teams ran).

Nedeau, a former medalist in the 1,500m run at the world level, anchored the team in 1:58.4. He now serves as the head coach at Amherst College.

The team winners on the night were the Princeton women and the Penn men.