Third-place finish at Heps better than expected for women's track

The Princeton women's indoor track team finished third this weekend at the Heptagonal Championships in Ithaca, NY, scoring 69 points in the meet's 17 events. Cornell won the championship with 113, while Harvard came in second with 101.

The third place finish is significant for the women's team, which last year ended up in a less than desirable sixth place.

Senior Lauren Simmons, who has not been defeated in an 800m race so far this season, continued her streak by taking the 800m title with a time of 2:18.51.

Simmons set a school record in the event earlier on in the season, and has been a powerful force for the team. She has been Princeton's most consistent performer this year.

Sophomore Susan Coltman placed second in two events, the long jump and the pentathlon. Coltman was in fact favored to win the pentathlon, but was edged out by Sheina Damm of Dartmouth.

Freshman Brooke Minor took second in the high jump with a leap of 1.70m.

Fellow freshman Chelo Canino, who also set a school record during the course of the season, came in third in the pole vault, clearing 3.60m.

The Tiger 4x400 team, consisting of Leslie Warren, sophomore Liz Morse, freshman Chanel Lattimer, and sophomore Hasina Outtz, ran well, pacing third with a time of 3:54.15.

Their result was mirrored by the 4x800 team; composed of senior Natalie Deffenbaugh, freshman Caitlin Tormey, Simmons, and freshman Randy Buzzell, which also finished third in 9:07.80.

Lattimer, who ran in the 200m dash as well as the 4x400, came in third as well in that event, with a time of 25.61.

Also, senior Catherine Casey finished a close second in the 5k, running a time of 17:13.77. Casey also finished sixth in the 3k with a time of 9:58.52.

Princeton's third-place finish bodes well for the squad as the weather warms up. Track and field move outdoors and the Tigers will seek another strong finish at the next Heps meet.