Tigers continue strong performances at Larry Ellis invitational

The Larry Ellis Invitational allowed both the men’s and women’s track and field teams to continue their great season as they faced tough opponents, including a large group of elite athletes. However, the Tigers were unfazed by this prospect and showed their abilities as they went toe-to-toe with the opposition.

In the men’s events, there were some extremely impressive victories over the past weekend. On the first day, the Tigers claimed a 1-2 victory in the 10k as senior duo Sam Pons and Matt McDonald finished in 29:35.78 and 29:38.76, respectively. Junior Michael Sublette also competed and finished in sixthplace with a time of 30:21.43 as he was unable to keep up with the rest of the leading pack.

The rest of the first day had some memorable moments, including the exciting finish to the 5k as senior Mike Mazzaccaro lost out on a runners-up spot to unaffiliated runnerAndy Weaver by one hundredth of a second, finishing with a time of 14:05.98, although both Weaver and Mazzaccarro were almost five seconds behind winner Ryan Mahalsky of Lehigh.

Sophomore Vic Youn was able to claim another podium finish for the Tigers, as the hammer thrower came second with a mark of 58.63m, which was bested by Colin Minor of Dartmouth. Freshman Gabe Arcaro also competed in the event, finishing fifth.

The second day had even more success, as the Tigers picked up two victories on the day. Senior Scott Rushton won the shot put with a mark of 17.40m and Rushton also picked up the three best marks in the event as he easily beat out his opponents.

Senior Nana Owusu-Nyantekyi is also looking to finish his final season at Princeton with aplomb, as the Eton College graduate easily dominated the triple jump with his best jump coming at 15.56m. He cleared the 15m mark twice, and was the only competitor to do so.

The Tigers also had other podium finishes in the long jump where junior Jake Scinto came second with a mark of 7.39m, beaten by professional Herman Kirkland of adidas Garden State Track Club. Senior Tumi Akinlawon and sophomore Greg Leeper finished in fourth and fifth, with jumps of 7.25m and 7.20m, respectively.

Junior Adam Bragg also finished second in the pole vault, clearing 5.26m. Freshman Mitchel Charles was second in the discus with a toss of 52.51m. In the track events, junior John Hill came third in the 100m with a time of 10.77, while freshman Carrington Akosa came sixth with a time of 10.80. Freshman Kenan Farmer was third in the 1500m with a time of 3:54.13, before the Tigers rounded off with a 2-3 finish in the 110m hurdles by junior Greg Caldwell and senior Rob Mohr.

The women’s team was in sensational form, racking up seven victories at the Invitational. Most impressive was sophomore Megan Curham, who not only dominated her event in the 5k, but also broke a school record. With a time of 15:54.03, Curham was 27 seconds ahead of her closest finisher and she broke the previous school record of 16:00.40 by six seconds. This was also the first time that Curham herself broke the sixteen-minute mark. Curham was joined by junior Emile de la Bruyere in fourth place and followed by the Fluehr sisters in sixth and seventh places, with junior Kathryn beating out senior Erika.

Also claiming a win on the day was junior Julia Ratcliffe, who continued her fine season as she once again dominated the hammer throw. In a tight contest with Central Park Track Club'sAlina Duran, Ratcliffe pulled out a winning throw with the 66.15m mark. Ratcliffe and Duran were the only two throwers who passed the 60m mark and Ratcliffe had the five best throws in the event.

Sophomore Lizzie Bird also triumphed on the day in the steeplechase as she broke her previous personal record by ten seconds. With a time of 9:58.33, she was the only runner that broke the ten-minute plateau, easing her way to the win.

The second day of the event brought four more victories to the Tigers, with sophomore Katie Hanss winning the 1500m with a mark of 4:34.78, while freshman Delaney Miller finished seventh in the same event.

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The Tigers had a 1-2-4 finish in the 800m as junior Cecilia Barowski was joined by senior Kim Mackay at the podium after finishing with times of 2:08.41 and 2:11.60, respectively. Sophomore Zoe Sims came fourth with a time of 2:12.70, the three Tigers only separated by Rutgers’ Deanna Dilandro who finished at 2:12.59.

The Tigers picked up two more victories in the relay events as they triumphed in both the 4x100 and 4x400. Senior Jasmine Blocker had a successful day as she was the victor in both of the relay events. Blocker was joined by fellow senior Joanna Anyanwu, junior Sara Ronde and freshman Christina Walter in the 4x100, while Mackay, junior Meghan McMullin and sophomore Elisa Steele were her teammates in the 4x400.

In the field events, there was success for junior Brielle Rowe, who was the runner-up in the discus throw with a 45.49m mark, while freshman Kennedy O’Dell was third in the shot put with a 13.43m mark.

Both teams will travel to Philadelphia this upcoming weekend to compete in the Penn Relays fromThursdaytoSaturday. Some team members will also compete at the TCNJ Lions Invitational held in Ewing, N.J. on Saturday, which commences at 10 a.m.