Men's track reclaims Heps title, women place second

The men's track team won the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships this weekend in Ithaca, N.Y., winning its sixth indoor title in seven years and unseating defending champion Cornell. The women's team, despite leading after the first day, placed second, finishing just behind Cornell, 164-121.

With five events left, the men's team trailed the Big Red, 119-117, but strong performances in the relay races led the Tigers to the crown, as they finished with 159 points over Cornell's 141.

"It is really rewarding to win the team title," men's head coach Fred Samara said. "There was no way to win without a number of outstanding performances, and we called upon every guy to step up."

The day was filled with strong performances by both teams.

For the men, senior captain Jonathon Kieliszak successfully defended his title in the mile, winning with a time of four minutes, 10.03 seconds. Junior Mike Kopp won the 500-meter run in 1:04.46, while senior captain Tristan Colangelo placed second in the 3000m run.

Princeton relay teams also dominated, spurring the Tigers to victory. The 4x800m relay team, consisting of senior Rob Hulick, freshman Aaron Reed, senior Josh Kauke and Kieliszak, placed first. The distance medley relay team, consisting of sophomore Ben Stern, freshman Brian Shields, junior Alexis Tingan and Colangelo, also took home the victory. The Tigers also finished second in the 4x400m relay.

True to form, the Tigers enjoyed their usual top-rate performances from their throwers. Junior Paul Lyons won the shot put with a distance of 17.16m, and senior captain Rocky Craley placed third. Senior Josh McCaughey became the first four-time Heps Champion in the 35-lb. weight throw, winning that event with a distance of 20m flat.

In the meet, Penn finished third with 57 points; Columbia and Brown tied for fourth with 51; Harvard was sixth with 46; Yale was seventh at 43; and Dartmouth finished last with 41 points.

Columbia's Steve Sundell and Dartmouth's Mustafa Abdur-Rahim were named top male athletes of the meet. Sundell won the 5000m and 3000m runs, while Abdur-Rahim won the heptathlon.

Next up for the Heps champion Tigers will be the IC4A Championships in Boston on Mar. 6 and 7, followed by the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on Mar. 12 and 13.

The women's team improved upon last year's fourth-place finish. Princeton was down by only 11 points with four events remaining, but in the end Cornell was too strong to overcome.

The Tigers were paced by their distance team, led by an outstanding performance from sophomore Cack Ferrell. Ferrell won the mile run with a time of 4:50.88 and the 3000m run in 9:38.34, and was named the top female athlete of the meet.

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"It was a thrill to have won both," Ferrell said. "But Heps is really about the team and getting the team points."

Senior Emily Kroshus won the 5000m run with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:45.13 in addition to placing second in the mile and fourth in the 3000m run. Sophomore Meredith Lambert finished second in the 5000, just a second behind Kroshus, and third in the 3000.

Princeton also performed well in the field events, led by junior Brooke Minor, who placed second in the high jump. In the pentathlon, senior Susan Coltman placed third. Senior Chelo Canino placed third in the pole vault, and junior Jennifer Byrd came in third in the long jump.

Another notable performance was that of Yale's Joslyn Woodard. After a false start in the 60m dash, Woodard won the long jump, shattering the Heps record of 5.99m with a jump of 6.27m.

Overall, Brown came in third with 69 points; Penn placed fourth with 55 points; Yale was fifth with 49; Dartmouth sixth with 39; Columbia seventh with 20; and Harvard eighth with nine points.

The women will move on to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in Boston next weekend, followed by the NCAAs in Fayetteville on Mar. 13 and 14.