Early in the winter track season, men's head coach Fred Samara said the team was counting on underclassmen to step up and fill the gaps left by graduating seniors and injured upperclassmen. Freshman Josh McCaughey and three other Tigers answered his call Sunday at the New Year Invitational at Jadwin Gym.
McCaughey — the national high school record-holder in the weight throw — eclipsed the meet record in the 35-lb. throw, defeating the runner-up by nearly eight feet and recording an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. McCaughey's stellar early-season performance makes him a favorite to gain an automatic qualifying spot as the season progresses.
The women's team also was looking for athletes to take on a leadership role as a threat in the Heptagonal League.
Pace setter
Last year's outdoor 800-meter champion, junior Lauren Simmons proved she could be that Tiger. Simmons scored a meet record in the 500 with a time of 1 minute, 15.95 seconds, beating the second-place finisher from Kutztown University by more than two seconds.
"I was a whole lot more consistent in my training over the summer, so I expected to come in and run better than I did last year," Simmons said. "I've set a lot of goals for myself this year and I hope that hard work will help me accomplish them."
Four of Princeton's five first-place finishes were by newcomers. Freshman Stephen Wiley dominated the high jump competition with a leap of six-feet, eight-inches — four-and-a-half inches ahead of the next finisher from Rider University. Freshman shot putter Rocky Craley won his event with a heave of 54-4.5. And freshman Marcus Ford-Bey edged Princeton sophomore David Gary for the victory in the triple jump.
When asked whether he had expected the freshmen to contribute this much this early, head coach Fred Samara said straightforwardly, "Yes."
"The training has been going very well," he said. "When kids are freshmen you don't know how well they're going to do. Freshman year is usually up in the air.
"They have been showing they're pretty strong mentally as competitors," Samara continued, "and their confidence level is very high."
The throwers and jumpers demonstrated their talents by picking up several places in each event. Junior Liam Morton grabbed third in the weight and fourth in the shot. Sophomore Jeff Petrulis took third in the shot.
The jumpers' performances were even more significant than they appear on paper because all athletes competed with shorter runs than usual. Senior Jon Jessup vaulted 15-0.75 in the pole vault .
Sophomore Javius Wynn also placed third in the hurdles with a time of 7.74 seconds. In other running events, senior Paul Gallup and junior Austin Webb tied for fourth in the 300.
As expected, Princeton's middle-distance squad earned places in the 1000. Junior Ryan Smith was second with a time of 2:34.01, while sophomore David Dean was fourth, and junior Seamus Whelton was fifth. Senior Biren Roy and sophomore Mike Baird turned in outstanding races in the 3000.
Roy, who placed second with a time of 8:27.8 seconds, went neck-and-neck with former LaSalle standout, Kevin Myles, who was running in the meet unattached. Baird came in fourth, and two Tigers' 4x400 teams were third and fifth in the relay.
Leading ladies
In addition to Simmons' meet record, the women's team turned in some exceptional performances as well. Senior Becca Desman tied for second place in the high jump with a height of 5-6.5, and senior captain Becky Haarlow was fourth in the triple jump with a length of 37-0.5.
Freshman Hasina Outtz scored twice for the Tigers with a third place in the long jump and a sixth in the 55-meter hurdles. Her freshman teammate Lauren Washychyn placed fourth in the long jump.
In the 1000 meters, Princeton saw the return of two runners to competition. Junior Emily Robinson placed third with a time of 3:04.15 in her first race back after taking a year off from competition. In addition, sophomore Debbie Jacobson was fifth in her debut as a Tiger after being plagued by injuries last year.
Senior Khalila Thomas nearly topped 41 feet in the shot put in her fourth-place effort.
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