Smith, Denbo take home victories for men's track

With the first weekend of Ivy League baseball and the NCAA basketball Final Four taking place, it would have been easy for the men's track team to get lost in the shuffle. Championship-level performances by several Tigers on both coasts — at the Stanford Outdoor Track and Field Invitational in California and the Raleigh Relays hosted by North Carolina State — made this a memorable early-season weekend for Princeton.

At the Stanford Invitational, senior Scott Denbo shattered his own school record in the shot put, throwing 62 feet, 5.25 inches to claim first place by more than two inches over his nearest competitor.

The previous Princeton record, thrown by Denbo last season, had been 62-0.25. The senior bested three All-Americas en route to claiming first place and qualifying for a provisional spot at the National Championships in May.

Denbo's was not the only winning performance by a Tiger on the weekend.

Junior Ryan Smith finished first in the 800-meter race at the Raleigh Relays in a quick early season time of one minute, 48.57 seconds. Senior Tensai Asfaw and junior Kevin Gallagher both finished in the top ten in the 1500 meters, posting times of 3:51.04 and 3:51.45, respectively.

Several Princeton freshmen made strong contributions as well, including Ryan Teising who finished in the top 20 in the 10,000-meter race in a time of 30:48.67.

Also of note, University of Washington sprinter JaWarren Hooker ran the fastest time in world this year in the 200 meters, winning the event with a time of 20.33 seconds. While .1 seconds off Hooker's personal best, the time was good enough to set both a new meet and new course record.

The men's track team will be in action April 7 in both the Sam Howell Memorial at Weaver Stadium and at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas.