Women's track faces most important meet of the year, Heptagonal Champs

What is it about Heptagonals that so excites the imagination?

Is it the strange and illustrious history that it possesses? The magnificent, hyperbolic nature of its descriptions? The wash of school spirit that saturates every event? The competitive rivalries that form and clash on the field of battle?

It is very likely all of the above. The Heptagonal Championiships is quite simply the biggest event of the season for any Ivy track team, and the Princeton women's track team is no exception. For weeks now they've been training for their shot at the outdoor championship, and this weekend they'll have their chance.

The Tigers have had a season of uneven performances, but after a few strong meets towards the end of the season they have a good chance at equaling or besting last year's third place showing.

In 2002, however, the team had the advantage of knowing that Lauren Simmons '02 and Catherine Casey '02 were there to thrash the competition. Simmons was dominant in the 800m and 1500m throughout the season, and won at Heps as well, while Casey placed highly in both the 3k and 5k.

Picking up the slack

Indeed, it will be up to the freshmen that replace the departed seniors if a Heps victory is somehow attained. The distance has two freshmen, Cack Ferrell and Meredith Lambert, that have both adapted surprisingly well to the college athletic scene and have been putting up impressive numbers all year. Lambert recently competed with junior and perennial distance contributor Emily Kroshus at a West Coast event, showing the progress she's made throughout the year.

The Princeton squad is quite talented but will still have to really be firing on all cylinders in order to pull out a win and take the laurel crown. That means contributions from team members of all class years in all areas. Luckily, such a possibility is not as farfetched as to make a win inconceivable. In fact, the Tigers feel quite prepared.

"I think we're ready," junior Chelo Canino said. "We look good, we're capable and we have a lot of athletes who can expect to actually win their events. And added to that we have a lot of depth, since it's not just about winning. You also want people getting second and third [place], and getting points for that."

Deep bench

Depth is possibly the biggest advantage the Tigers have over other teams, and they fully intend to make use of that. Every segment of the Princeton team has multiple chances to score. The Heps scoring system counts the top six finishers in every event, which means that, as Canino mentioned, winning the overall meet is not simply about winning events but also about placing.

Winning is always nice, though, and the Tigers are entering into next weekend with a few contenders to do just that. For the short distances, junior Hasina Outtz is expected to contend in the 400m hurdles and should pose a significant threat in the 100m hurdles as well.

Recently Canino has also been doing well, competing in her signature event, the high jump. She currently holds the Princeton record for the pole vault, but unfortunately she injured herself while competing at Penn Relays last weekend. Her status for Heps is uncertain.

Sophomore Brooke Minor is another solid contender, who should be able to try for a top-three position in the high jump. Another sophomore, Carrie Strickland, has also been doing well in the 1500m, and should contend for the title.

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Junior Susan Coltman should do well in the heptathlon. Coltman won the Indoor event and is expected to perform similarly outdoors.

The main competition should be the same teams that defeated Princeton in Indoor Heps earlier on in the school year. The Tigers ended up finishing fourth, behind Cornell, Yale and Harvard.

Even still, the Tigers have every reason to feel confident about their chances this coming weekend. Winning may prove quite difficult, but Princeton is ready to go out and give it its best shot.

"It was really close in [Indoor Heps]," junior Pilar Marin said. "But I think if we go out there as a team and all perform to the best of our ability then we have a great chance to surprise some people."