Bragg breaks school record as Tigers impress at Princeton Open

This past weekend, the men’s and women’s track and field teams honored their senior teammates at the Princeton Open, which was hosted over Friday and Saturday at Weaver Track Stadium. In the final regular season meet, the teams hoped to bid farewell to their seniors with some strong performances as well as prepare for the upcoming postseason events.

The men’s and women’s teams combined for 10 victories over the weekend, three for the women’s team and seven for the men’s teams, with an especially impressive performance from junior Adam Bragg who not only comfortably won the pole vault event, but also set a school record.

In the women’s events, junior Cecilia Barowski had a fine day. She triumphed in the elite 800, finishing with a time of 2:07.23. Senior Kim Mackay came in fourth, while freshman Ashley Forte set her personal best and placed sixth. Barowski also set her personal best in the 400, finishing in second place with a time of 54.20. Although she did not compete in the elite 800, sophomore Katie Hanss perhaps should have, finishing the 800 in second place with a time that would have placed her in the top 10 of the elite 800.

The Tigers’ two other wins also came in track events, as sophomore Nicole Marvin came out victorious in the 5K followed by freshman Melissa Reed, who completed the 1-2 finish for the Tigers in the event. Sophomore Jessica Ackerman wrapped up the first-place finishes for the Tigers on Saturday, as she was the first finisher in a 1-2-3 finish in the 1500, followed by freshman Delaney Miller and senior Gina Talt. All three competitors had competed in the elite 1500 event on Friday but were beaten out by much tougher competition, although sophomore Ally Markovich was able to finish fourth and second her personal best.

There were other solid finishes in the track events as senior Joanna Anyanwu impressed, finishing third in the 100 before finishing eighth in the 200 and setting her personal best in both races. Junior Meghan McMullin finished second in the 400 hurdles, losing out by five-hundredths of a second to the eventual winner.

Although the field and relay events did not bring home any silverware for the Tigers, there were solid performances all around, including from junior Taylor Morgan who gained a personal record in the shot put with a mark of 12.58m on her final attempt. The Tigers did have podium finishes in the 4x100 and the 4x400 as well.

In the men’s events, Bragg’s performance was the main story of the Princeton Open, breaking the Tigers’ school record in the pole vault with an impressive mark of 5.42m. Bragg also easily cruised past his opponents, as the runner-up finished 0.21m behind Bragg.

The Tigers were impressive in both the elite 800 and 1500 events, with a 1-3 finish in the 800 and a second-place finish in the 1500. Freshman Joshua Ingalls set his personal best as he came out victorious in the 800, finishing with a time of 1:49.36. Senior Bradley Paternostro had to accept a third-place finish despite coming in about a quarter of a second slower than Ingalls. In the 1500, freshman Noah Kauppila demonstrated that he will be a mainstay in the team for years to come as he placed second, with a time of 3:47.36.

The Tigers did not have much success in the other track events, with only sophomore Greg Leeper with a podium finish in the 400, but the Tigers dominated the field and relay events. The Tigers swept the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. The team of junior trio John Hill, Dré Nelson and Jake Scinto and freshman Carrington Akosa showed their unbelievable pace as they finished the relay with a mark of 40.68. The 4x400 team of sophomores Bryant Switzer, Ray Mennin and Leeper along with freshman Josh Freeman finished with a time of 3:12.73.

In the field events, the Tigers triumphed in three other events. Most notable was perhaps the long jump, as the top four finishers were all Tigers. Senior Tumi Akinlawon won with a mark of 7.13m, followed by Scinto, Leeper and junior Bryan Oslin. Sophomore Chris Cook was the top of a 1-2-3 finish for the shot put as he triumphed with a personal best mark of 18.48m. Senior Scott Rushton came second, followed by freshman Mitchel Charles.

In the triple jump, senior Nana Owusu-Nyantekyi dominated as he finished with a best jump mark of 14.89m. The Tigers had impressive finishes in the discus throw as Charles came in fourth and Cook came in sixth. Even more impressive was the hammer throw, where the Tigers came 2-3-4, with sophomore Vic Youn placing second with a throw of 56.39m, followed by senior Jake Taylor and freshman Gabe Arcaro.

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After an impressive Princeton Open, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams will look toward the Heptagonal Championships hosted in Philadelphia this upcoming weekend on Saturday and Sunday before returning home the week after to host the ECAC Championships.