Men's, women's track both fall to Penn State

On Jan. 26th, as most Princeton students were boarding planes, trains, and automobiles, the men's and women's track teams had just their feet to carry them through the National Open at Penn State.

This Saturday, as most Princeton students straggled lazily back to campus after a week of vegging in front of the television, lying on the beach, or meandering down ski slopes, the men's and women's track teams were both still cruising in high gear heading into important tri-meets.

The men were headed back to Happy Valley where they took on their host and the University of Connecticut. This past weekend the women played host to Penn and Penn State in Jadwin Gymnasium.

Although both teams fell to powerhouses from Pennsylvania in the tri-meets — the men came in second to Penn State, and the women fell to Penn State and Penn — the Tigers proved that they have what it takes to handle tough competition, bringing home a slew of individual honors.

Senior Scott Denbo won the shot-put with an NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 58 feet, 8.5 inches. The previous weekend at the National Open, he had captured second place with a throw of 57-7.

Freshman Josh McCaughey brought home another win in the 35-pound weight throw. His toss of 64-5 was also long enough to make him an NCAA provisional qualifier.

"I was happy with my throwing, but not totally satisfied," McCaughey said. "I was looking to throw a personal best, but missed it by six inches."

He had set that personal best the weekend before, giving him the win in the National Open. Jon Jessup, also a senior, helped the Tigers out with a spectacular showing in the pole-vault competition. His vault of 16-8.75 broke the meet record by eight inches.

On the track, senior Tensai Asfaw took first in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 25.93 seconds, and senior Pat Anglin won the 3000, setting a new meet record with a time of 8:20.03.

Several of the women also had impressive showings at the National Open. Freshman Susan Coltman broke the meet record, taking first in the Pentathalon. Senior Rebecca Desman helped the Tigers with her jump of 5-6, good enough for sixth place in the high jump.

A few members of the women's team competed in the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden, Feb. 2. The 4x400 relay took first in 3:56.21.

On Saturday at Jadwin Gym, the relay teams proved themselves again, as the Tigers took first in both the 4x400 and the 4x800. The 4x800 group won decisively, over sixteen seconds ahead of the second-place Quakers.

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Princeton also took the top spots in several other events. Junior Catherine Casey nabbed first place in the mile, and Desman was first in the high jump, followed by Coltman, who took third. Juniors Lauren Simmons and Natalie Deffenbaugh took second and third, respectively, in the 800.

Princeton also took first in the 3000 with sophomore Laura Shakelton's time of 10:16.81. Senior captain Rebecca Haarlow was second in the triple jump.

As for the outlook for the remainder of the season, both teams are optimistic.

"The team has a great chance at winning the Heptagonal League for the fourth consecutive time as well as winning the IC4A championship," McCaughey said.

With McCaughey, Denbo, and Jessup already having provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships, the men's prospects look very good. The women's relay finishes are particularly promising as they head toward big meets in the coming weeks.

Both the men and women take to the track in Jadwin this coming Saturday at noon. The men will face Harvard, while the women will face the Crimson and Yale.

The following weekend the Tigers will be home again for the Princeton Invitational, which will hopefully put both teams in favorable positions heading into the Heptagonal and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference meets in the following weeks.