Penn runs down three-time defending champ men's track at Heps

While many Princeton students were trying to defend their livers against the rigors of Houseparties weekend, the men's track team faced a much tougher challenge. The Tigers sought to defend their outdoor Heptagonal championship from a hard-charging field of competitors.

For the Tigers, the outcome on the track was not much better than the outcome in the clubs. Princeton missed the opportunity to win a fourth-straight Heps title, losing to Penn, 136.5-117.

The Quakers ultimately proved too much for Princeton, erasing the lead that the Tigers enjoyed in the early stages of the meet.

"We just ran out of guns in the final analysis. [Penn] came ready to compete and they walk home with a trophy," assistant coach Mike Brady said.

While the weekend as a whole did not turn out the way the team would have liked, the Tigers did have several outstanding individual performers. Senior Tora Harris won the high jump with a mark of 2.27 meters and was named the Athlete of the Meet on the men's side.

The jump also set a new meet record, breaking the old mark of 2.24m set by Brown's Terrance Ferguson in 1991.

"2.27, what I jumped today, was what made the U.S. [Olympic] team in 2000, but you've got to do it when it counts," Harris said.

Senior shot put standout Scott Denbo also took home the top spot in his event, with a throw of 18.13 m. Denbo's win was his fourth straight at Heps, putting him in rare company. The last person to win four straight Heps shot put titles was Adam Nelson, now the top ranked shot putter in the world.

"My hand's been torn up so I actually wasn't that happy with [my performance]," Denbo said. "I did what I needed to do to get the points, and that was about all I could muster."

Freshmen classmates Josh McCaughey and Mark Smith also went one-two in the hammer throw to round out the Tigers' success in the field events. McCaughey threw an impressive 60.68m for the win.

Princeton also had several strong showings on the track. Junior Paul Morrison, who has been hampered by injury for most of the season, finished second in the 5000-meter race in 14 minutes, 36.71 seconds. Morrison's classmate Ryan Smith placed second in the 800 in 1:53.80.

"Paul's a trooper," Brady said. "He's done everything he possibly could to get himself back to being a top-flight, national caliber athlete. He just ran out of gas in these last couple of weeks."

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The Tigers' lone win in the running events came in the 200, where sophomore Patrick Schottel ran a wind-aided 21.42.

The tough loss to a talented Penn squad was somewhat disappointing for the team, but it was certainly not the last word on the Tigers this season. While Heps does represent a culmination of sorts, some members of the team are looking ahead to the next few meets — and even as far as next season.

"Our kids have nothing to be ashamed of," Brady said. "They raced real hard, competed real hard in every event and gave it everything they could. We'll be back. Good things will happen to the Tigers again."

Princeton track's regular season ends with an extended home stand; the Princeton Invitational, Princeton Last Chance and IC4A Championship meets will all be held in Weaver Stadium in the coming weeks. Individual members of the team will then travel to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Championships at the end of May.