Both the men's and women's track teams will reach the season's competitive peak in two weeks when they compete in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. The few days remaining before then are crucial, as every Ivy League team tries to reach its potential in time for Heps. In preparation for the championships, the men and women will host the Princeton Invitational at Lawrenceville Prep School this weekend.
Columbia, Delaware, Monmouth and Kutztown, a division II power, will all find their way to Lawrenceville.
The meet takes place at Lawrenceville because Jadwin Gym will be occupied for Alumni Weekend festivities.
Final tuneup
The meet will be nonscoring and many of the Tigers' premier runners, as well as some of the other schools' best, will not compete, choosing instead to spend the weekend resting.
"Most teams are competing in the meet before their conference championship meets," men's track head coach Fred Samara said. "They are working to qualify runners for nationals or select runners for those championships."
The men's team is coming off an eighth-place finish at the Syckes-Sabock Challenge meet at Penn State last weekend, where it had several strong performances by its distance runners and relay teams.
Last weekend the women defeated both Harvard and Yale in a tri-meet. There were excellent results throughout the team as the Tigers edged the Elis by a single point.
While some of the Princeton runners will be resting this weekend, others will be fiercely competing for the privilege of representing the Tigers at Heps.
"It will be kind of a low key meet to sharpen some people and make our final roster decision for Heps," women's track head coach Peter Farrell said. "We will rest some people and get our final tuneups before our championships."
Not all the runners will be fighting for a roster spot, however, as some will be trying to qualify for the NCAA tournament, which will take place March 12 and 13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
The men's team enters this weekend's competition ranked No. 20 in the nation, according to the United States Coaches' Association poll.
During the meet, Princeton will get a look at Columbia, whom it will face a week later at Heps.
National qualifying
The Lions post strong distance runners on both the men's and women's side. They are led by senior Steve Sundell, who has provisionally qualified for the NCAAs in both the 5000- and 3000-meter runs. The women are led by senior captain Lisa Stublic, who has also provisionally qualified in the 5000m run.
Princeton senior Josh McCaug-hey has also provisionally qualified in the 35-pound weight throw.
Provisional qualification is one step below automatic qualification. Depending on the number of athletes who automatically qualify, the remaining will be taken from the list of provisional qualifiers.
Both teams have been training for Heps, which will take place in Ithaca, N.Y., since the season started. There they will face the other seven Ivy schools and Navy.
The men's team has had a recent history of success at Heps, winning the championship each year from 1998 to 2002, before being unseated last year by Cornell.
The women, who have not placed first at Heps since 1998, finished fourth last year and will try to upset two-time defending champs Cornell this year.
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