OXFORD, England -- The Big Red track and field team's 2010 Tour of the United Kingdom came upon its final stages on Tuesday as the Transatlantic Series between teams from Cornell and Penn and teams from Oxford and Cambridge was renewed at the historic Iffley Road Track at Oxford. The Series, which for Cornell dates to 1921 (and 1951 for Penn), returned to Iffley Road, the site of the first ever sub-four minute mile run by Roger Bannister in 1954, for the first time since 2002, and the match was contested under warm and sunny skies. The Cornell and Penn women remain unbeaten in the Series, winning 18 of 19 events to defeat Oxford and Cambridge, 125-64, while men were also triumphant, claiming 16 of 19 events to win 118-76.

The women boasted four new Series records to go along with their 18 events wins. The Cornell women contributed 14 individual event wins and teamed with Penn to win both relays, and all four of the new Series records were set by Cornellians. Seniors Stephanie Pancoast and Erin Roberts concluded their fantastic steeplechase careers at Cornell with a first and second place finish in the 3000 steeplechase, as both dipped under the old Series record (set last year by Rachel Kirsch '09 when Oxford and Cambridge visited the U.S.). Pancoast ran 10:40.26 (breaking the old Series record by 23 seconds), also setting an Iffley Road track record, and Roberts ran 10:56.60. Senior Kerri Lyons also set a Series record in winning the mile, setting a personal best of 4:47.05 to win impressively. In the 5000, freshman Kelsey Karys ran a fantastic race, putting 20 seconds on second place in the last four laps to place first, running 16:43.75 to break the Series record set by Emily McCabe '06 in 2006. In the triple jump, sophomore Kristin Brandt broke the old Series record in the triple jump, reaching an impressive 39-8 1/2, which is also a facility record. Brandt also placed second in the long jump, reaching 18-2 1/2.  Nearly breaking the existing Series record was junior Kim Standridge, who ran 2:08.67 to win the 800; Kim came back to place third in the mile at 5:08.26. Freshman Victoria Imbesi was a triple winner, taking the javelin at 130-0, the discus at 133-9 and the shot put at 43-4 1/2. Sophomore Erin Rossi won the hammer with a big throw of 149-10 (she also placed fourth in both the shot put and discus) and freshman Claire Dishong was third in the discus at 121-2. Senior Jessica Weyman concluded her terrific career in the 400 hurdles, placing first in 60.73, while sophomore Molly Glantz shrugged off illness to place second in 63.02. Sophomore Dani Silas competed very well, winning the 100 hurdles at 15.34 (into the wind) and then came back to get third in the 200 at 27.21. In the 100, sophomore Melissa Hewitt won, running 12.29 into the wind, while senior Kate Backel was third at 12.68 and junior Mecha Santos was fourth at 12.90. In the 400, senior Megan Williams ran very well to place first in 56.06, while Backel doubled back to get third at 57.56. The senior duo ran the first two legs of the 4X100 before handing off to Penn's Paige Madison and Leah Brown, as the quartet missed the Series record by only .05, running 46.88 but still managed a track record. And in the 4X400, Brown of Penn (57.5), Backel (57.5), Kali Strother of Penn (55.5) and Weyman (56.9) ran 3:47.34 to win by 28 seconds and set a new Iffley Road track record.

The men had a very good meet as well and were led by junior Adrien Dannemiller, who won both the mile and the 3000 steeplechase. Closing well off a slow early pace, he won the steeple in 9:15.83 and then finished with a 58-second final 400 to win a tactical mile in 4:18.43, only an hour after his steeplechase finish. Classmate Nate Edelman claimed first in the 5000, running away from the field at half-way, running 14:54.71. Senior Charlie Hatch contributed a fourth place in the mile (4:31.61) and the 5000 (15:57.66). The Big Red's other individual event win on the track came from freshman Bruno Hortelano-Roig, who won the 200 in 22.14. The Cornell men were particularly strong in the individual field events, winning all but two. Seniors Duane Teixeira and Gary Jones were a dynamic duo in the long and triple jumps, with Teixeira wining the long jump at 24-4 1/2 (Jones was second at 23-4 1/2) while Jones was triumphant in the triple jump at 49-11 1/2 (Teixeira was second at 49-4 1/4). The throwers won three events as freshman Bob Fiedler took the hammer at 159-6, senior Scott Jaffee won the discus with a throw of 162-10 and sophomore Bob Belden took first in the shot put at 52-0 1/2. Belden also took second in the hammer (142-2) and second in the discus (160-7), while Jaffee managed third in the shot put at 42-5 1/2. Also performing well in the field was senior Rick Zamora, who took second in the pole vault (15-7), and sophomore Chris Arlinghaus, who took second in the high jump (6-4 3/4). Back on the track, senior Mike Kippins took second in the 400 hurdles and then ran his first career steeplechase, grinding out 12:42.61 to earn a point for the team. Junior Chris Tait was second in the 400 at 49.36, sophomore Cody Boyd was second in the 200 at 22.89, sophomore Chase Aaronson placed third in the 100 at 11.09, senior Marcel van Eeden was fifth in the 100 at 15.95 and sophomore Danny Hagberg took fourth in the 110 hurdles at 18.31. A line-up of Hagberg, Tait, Aaronson and Hortelano-Roig won the 4X100 at 42.01, while Penn's Darryl Oliver (50.8), Brian Fulton (49.8), Boyd (50.6) and Tait (51.6) ran 3:22.80 in the 4X400 to win by 17 seconds.

After the match, the teams were treated to a wonderful banquet at St. Hilda's College, Oxford, where the traditions and values of this unique the Series were celebrated and event winners (and new Series record-holders) were recognized. In addition, two new trophies have been established for the Series with Cornell/Penn and Oxford/Cambridge, and these were awarded for the first time.

After a fantastic two weeks in Great Britain, the teams return to the U.S. on Wednesday morning.