Track teams tune up for biggest meets, now healthy Morrison returns to form

With various late season championship meets looming on the horizon, the men's and women's track teams used several competitions over the weekend to prepare.

The men's team sent two runners to the Mt. SAC Relays at Mt. San Antonio College, while the rest of the team remained in Princeton. The women's team traveled to New York to face off against Columbia and others at the Twilight Meet.

The highlight of the weekend performances came from an unexpected source. Junior Paul Morrison, who in the past has been a rock on which the Tigers have built much of their success, has been hampered by a series of injuries since September.

Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays, however, against some of the strongest competition in the nation, Morrison finished 16th in a time of 13 minutes, 53.75 seconds. This was the junior's first highly competitive meet since his return. At this point in the year, the time qualifies him for the NCAA championships.

"I was pretty happy with my performance," Morrison said. "I'm just glad to be running again."

Despite the stiff competition, Morrison said he did not feel nervous before the the event.

"I thought 'I'm just going to try my hardest," Morrison said. "If I fall apart in the last 200 meters, that's okay. I know I can run with those guys."

Morrison was not the only Princeton runner to travel to the Mt. SAC meet. The junior was accompanied by classmate Ryan Smith. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Smith was hampered by injury, finishing sixth in his heat with a time of 1:51.32.

"Ryan was bothered with a knee problem and ran a somewhat disappointing time," Samara said.

Other Tigers had successful weekends closer to home. In a more relaxed atmosphere at Weaver Stadium, Princeton defeated St. John's, Manhattan College and Iona, capturing 105 points.

Senior Dennis Norman was the most dominant Tiger performer at home, winning both the shot put and discus with throws of 57 feet, 9.75 inches and 155-3, respectively. The Tigers will be without Norman for the remainder of the season, however, as he has signed a professional contract with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League.

Overall, the meet was the final tuneup for the big meets coming at the end of the season, including the Penn Relays next weekend in Philadelphia.

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"This was kind of a low key meet for us," Samara said. "We're really trying to get prepared for the rest of the season."

The women's track team also competed in a smaller meet hosted by Columbia in New York. The Tigers finished second behind Essex County College, scoring 124 points as a team.

Senior captain Becky Haarlow continued her season-long dominance of the triple jump, winning the event with a leap of 11.89 meters.

The women also had a comeback athlete play a large role in their weekend success. Junior Jen Cannistra competed for the first time in almost a year.

"[Jen] worked so hard to come back from a difficult injury and remained such a strong leader on the team throughout the year," junior Catherine Casey said.

Given the strong individual performances of late, the women's team seems to be looking forward to a strong finish.

"The meet was a good chance for the team to come together and prepare for some of the big meets coming up in the next few weeks," Casey said.

Both Tiger squads will be in action this weekend in Philadelphia at the Penn Relays, arguably the sport's most prestigious meet. May 5 and 6, the men's and women's teams will compete in the Heptagonal Championships at Weaver Stadium, with the men looking to extend their three-year winning streak at Outdoor Heps.