Track teams to compete in Fastrack National Invite

This Friday the men and women’s track and field team will be traveling back to Ocean Breeze Park for the Fastrack National Invite. Princeton will face many veteran teams there as well as a number of Ivy rivals, making it the perfect preparation for the Ivy Heptagonal Championships just over two weeks away.

Both teams should have plenty of confidence as they head into the meet. Although the season has just started, both sides are showing great promise already.

On the men’s side, the Tigers won a close match-up against Navy and followed that performance with another Harvard-Yale-Princeton title. Indeed, the Princeton won a remarkable 25th consecutive HYP victory this season. The Orange and Black dominated fellow Ivies Yale and Harvard by winning 13 of 17 total events. Most recently, the Tigers came in fourth of nine teams in the Villanova Invitational, where the Princeton squad managed to claim the 60m and 200m dash as well as 4x400m relay.

The women’s team had a similarly successful start to the season. In its annual tri-meet against St. John’s University and St. Joseph’s University, the Tigers racked up 141 points along their way to winning eight events. Princeton then placed third of eight at the Sykes and Sabock Challenge Cup, where sophomore Ashley Forte won the 600m and junior Katie Hanss and sophomore Melinda Renuart won the 800m and 3,000m respectively.

As the season progresses, both teams will be hoping to replicate past successes while also improving on last year’s accomplishments.

The men’s track team reclaimed the Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Championship last season. The Tigers had a strong showing, helping them claim their first title since 2012. Over the course of the meet, Princeton was the only team in triple digits, claiming 161 points. Runner-up Cornell managed to claim only 98. The Orange and Black hope to add another win this season, which will make it the 23rd consecutive season in which Princeton has finished either first or second at the Indoor Heptagonal Championship.

The women’s team won third place last season in the Heptagonal Championship. Despite claiming the top spot on the leaderboard early, the Crimson and Lions rallied to take the first and second spots respectively. Still, Princeton displayed a strong performance with wins coming in several events. The Tigers claimed the top two spots in the 5,000m. Princeton’s other two wins came in the 800m and 500m runs.

In addition to Ivy League success, both teams have also enjoyed accomplishments in the NCAA as well. Together the men’s and women’s squads qualified 22 athletes to NCAA regionals. The men’s team sent two to the NCAA championships and the women’s side sent four. The Tigers are hopeful that this year will produce similar results.

After, the Fastrack National Invite this Friday, the Tigers will hold the annual Princeton Invitational in Jadwin Gym before traveling to Ithaca the following week for the Heptagonal Championships.