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Tigers claim first at annual HYP meet

Junior Brighie Leach had a strong finish at third place of this weekend's HYP meet. 

Junior Brighie Leach had a strong finish at third place of this weekend's HYP meet. 

The Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet is one of the most historic events and rivalries in collegiate athletics. Varsity cross country competition among the Harvard, Yale, and Princeton men first began in 1907 and the schools held their first official meet in 1922.

Since this first meet, this competition has occurred annually with only three disruptions. The women’s teams of each school began to compete against each other in 1976 and varsity status was obtained at all three schools starting in 1977.

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This year’s women’s HYP meet was held at The Course at Yale on Sept. 15 in New Haven. This was Yale’s first race of the season, while it was both Princeton’s and Harvard’s second. Last weekend, the Tigers sent their middle-distance squad to compete in the Fordham Fiasco at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. There, they came in second, so the team is very excited for this first-place follow-up at HYP. Junior Gabi Forrest commented, “HYP was a very solid start, setting us up for a strong cross country season.” The team is currently ranked at an impressive No. 7 in this week’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Region poll.

Because of its depth, Princeton won the meet with an overall score of 32 points, while Yale and Harvard trailed behind with scores of 39 and 59. At first place overall was Bulldog Andrea Masterson by a wide margin with a time of 13:45.1 — a full 10 seconds ahead of second-place Bulldog Kayley DeLay.

The Tigers really came out strong this year, with all five scorers finishing in the top 10 of the race. At third place overall was junior Brighie Leach, with a time of 14:00.4. At only the second official cross country race of the season, the Orange and Black had a strong performance from their first-years. Following close behind Leach was an impressive race from first-year Sophie Cantine with a time of 14.02.3. In third place for the Tigers and fourth overall was fellow first-year Melia Chittenden with a time of 14.09.1. The four remaining scorers were junior Allie Klimkiewicz at 14.11.8, junior Maddie Offstein at 14:18.6, Forrest at 14:20.8, and sophomore Madeleine Sumner at 14:22.6.

The next contest for the Tigers will be Friday, Sept. 29, at Lehigh’s Paul Short Run.

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