In what might only be called a week of calm before the storm, the men's and women's outdoor track teams will be competing at home this weekend in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Weaver Field. The meet comes just a week before the Tigers head to Providence, R.I., the site of this year's Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
This meet, however, is particularly special for those involved in Princeton's track and field program.
"We're all motivated to perform well in this meet, as it honors a very special man in Princeton track history, former coach Larry Ellis," junior sprinter Justin Reed said.
Ellis, who passed away in the fall of 1998, spent 22 years coaching Princeton athletes until his retirement in 1992. When he took his position as Princeton's coach in 1970, he was the first African-American head coach in the Ivy League. In addition to instructing Princeton athletes, Ellis served as an Olympic national team coach for the 1984 Olympics. He continued his involvement with U.S. Track and Field after he left Princeton, serving as the organization's president until 1996.
Under this dedication backdrop, the Tigers hope to get in one more solid week of competition before their league championships.
Unlike most invitationals which feature a variety of local competition, this weekend's meet will feature mostly other Ivy League competitors and some club athletes because most East Coast schools are competing in their district championships this weekend.
For Princeton, this means that it will be facing many of its main Heps rivals this weekend. But do not expect the Invitational to be strictly a preview for next weekend's Heps.
"My goal this weekend is to get a good tuneup for Heps," Reed said. "Instead of competing in my main event, I'll be competing in the 200 [meter dash] to get a speed workout."
Many Tigers will be using the meet as a final opportunity to prepare for next week. For some athletes, this means competing in a secondary event in order to fine-tune their primary objective. Although no one would be opposed to a win this weekend, Princeton knows that one next weekend will be a much greater reward. Still, there will be plenty of hotly contested races and not just because of the warm weather expected in the area.
"There should be some good competition this weekend, as everyone is still trying to lower their times to qualify for future meets," Reed said.
The Invitational provides one of the final opportunities for individual athletes to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships later this spring. Athletes qualify for Regionals by finishing better than the qualifying standard set by the NCAA. Several Tigers have already surpassed those times.
For those athletes who are competing in their primary events, the meet can also provide a final confidence boost going into next week.
"I am hoping that the meet has some good competition with Ivy League athletes and open runners in the 800m," senior sprinter Liz Morse said, "because I would like to have another solid race before next week's big meet."
The men's and women's teams echoed their sentiments for their objective this weekend.
"Our team energy is focused on next week," Morse said.
"As a team, we are all mentally and physically preparing to compete in Heps next weekend," Reed said.
The thunder for next week's meet can already be heard rumbling off in the distance.
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