This Saturday's Larry Ellis Invitational was supposed to be a tuneup meet for the men's and women's outdoor track and field teams before they head to the Heptagonal Championships next weekend at Brown. What was meant to be a tuneup quickly became a display of raw power.
The Tigers were firing on all cylinders, showing no discernible weakness. Both the men's and women's runners and field athletes put on a dazzling display of individual performances. With only one regular season meet to go, there can be little doubt that Princeton is peaking as it heads into the most important week of the season.
Track and field differs from many sports in the sense that high levels of individual achievement cannot be sustained throughout an entire season. Even the best runners cannot maintain their fastest times through a two-month season. Trying to do so would be a physiological disaster. Coaches and athletes must, therefore, plan their season so that they hit their performance peak at exactly the right times. This weekend's race was a testament to Princeton's superlative planning and coaching.
The men's field athletes had one of their strongest performances to date. Senior Josh McCaughey was the top collegiate finisher in a mixed field of collegians and club athletes in the hammer throw. His 197 foot, 8 inch effort was one of the strongest in the Ivy League this year.
Senior Rocky Craley matched his teammate's efforts in the shot put, coming in first among college athletes with a toss of 54 feet, 11.25 inches. Andrew Park, in his first season as a Tiger, took first in the pole vault, clearing the 16 foot mark.
On the track, senior Jon Kieliszak ran a superb 1,500-meter race to take first place with a time of 3 minutes and 45.85 seconds. His time was two seconds quicker than his NCAA Regional qualifying time of 3:47.47 just two weeks ago at the Mt. SAC Relays in California.
Freshman Christian Sahner's second place finish in the 110m hurdles was the quickest among collegiate competitors. The New Jersey native crossed the line with a time of 14.34 seconds.
The women equaled the men with their bevy of strong, well-balanced performances.
Sophomore Cack Ferrel continued to excel in the 1,500m run. Her winning time of 4:29.09 will make her a sure favorite in next weekend's Heps. Her performance also guaranteed her a spot at the NCAA Regional Championships at the end of the month, as she narrowly beat the NCAA performance standard of 4:29.5.
Senior Liz Morse continued her string of Ivy League dominance in the 800m event. She was the first finisher to cross the line with a time of 2:09.70, which was also an improvement over her NCAA Regionals qualifying time two weeks ago.
Junior Chanel Lattimer and senior Hasina Outtz were one-two among collegiate finishers in the 200m sprint. The Tigers finished with respective times of 24.7 and 25.1.
The men and women will compete in one final meet at home this week before heading to Heps. The Broadmeade Invitational on Tuesday will give the Tigers a final opportunity to work out any remaining kinks in their performances before the championship meet.
Although no one knows how Heps will finally play out, very few people can deny that the Tigers have placed themselves in a superb position going into the weekend.
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