Men's track tops Navy; w. track wins over Rutgers, St. John's

Princeton's indoor track teams dominated the competition in Jadwin Gym last Saturday, as the men's team beat Navy and the women's team defeated both Rutgers and St. John's.

Despite the pressures of an impending Dean's Date and studying for final exams, worries that none of their foes had to deal with, the Tigers showed why both teams have a chance to win Heps this year.

The women competed in a tri-meet with St. John's and intrastate rival Rutgers, winning with 71 total points, followed by Rutgers with 63, and St. John's with 45.

This win came despite continuing to rest most of their star distance runners, including All-Americans senior Emily Kroshus and sophomore Cack Ferrell. Kroshus and Ferrell are resting after a highly successfu cross country season that culminated with the NCAA championships in November. Kroshus placed eighth in the race, leading Princeton to a ninth-place overall finish. Ferrell finished 22nd, overcoming a mid-race fall that later would require stitches.

Despite these absences, Princeton did well in the middle and long distance events, with wins by freshman Claire Filloux in the 3000-meter run, senior Liz Morse in the 1000m, junior Randy Buzzell in the mile, and junior Caitlin Tormey in the 800m. In addition, sophomores Jordan Wagenseller and Lindsay Cole finished second and third, respectively, in the 500m dash, and the 4x800m relay team won its race easily.

"All of our performances are very solid for this early in the season," Tormey said. "We really have a lot of potential, and we've shown a lot of competitive spirit not just in winning races, but in continuing to improve, and running great times."

While not dominating quite as much in the field events, Princeton still did well. All three top pole vaulters were Tigers, with senior Dalia Bach winning. Junior Jennifer Byrd took second in the long jump, and junior Brooke Minor was second in the high jump.

Before the break, men's head coach Fred Samara had promised to "send them all home with some good workouts," and the team's performance on Saturday is a good indication that it followed his instructions to the letter.

The Tigers bested Navy by a score of 93-71. Unlike the women, the men had their cross country runners back in action, and that certainly helped as they won their first dual meet of the season.

Although the Midshipmen, who are perennial contenders for the Patriot League title, did well in the sprinting events and some jumping events, it was not enough to overcome the clear superiority of Princeton's throwers and distance runners.

The middle and long distance events were never in doubt. Princeton took the top three places in the 500m, the mile, and the 800m, as well as the top two places in the 1000m and three of the top four in the 3000m. Wins were recorded by junior Mike Kopp, senior Jonathan Kieliszak, senior Josh Kauke, senior Tristan Colangelo, and junior Austin Smith.

The throwers did equally well, taking the top two spots in the shot put and the top three in the weight throw. Junior Paul Lyons won the shot put with a distance of 17.44m, in addition to earning third place in the weight throw, where senior Josh McCaughey took first. Notable performances were also made by senior Marcus Ford-Bey, winning the triple jump, and senior Adrian Mullings, who won the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.37 seconds. Princeton's relay teams also ran well, winning the 4x800m, and taking first through third in the 4x400m.

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Their success in the relays is good news for both teams, as the next meet on the schedule is the Princeton Relays on January 24, the first of two big intersession races for the Tigers. Though they will start facing stiffer competition, confidence remains high on both teams as the season moves on.