Tigers set sights on Heptagonals

Junior Juliette Poussot has never felt like her collegiate performances during the indoor track season have met her high personal standards. She has been injured both previous indoor seasons, and the tight curves of the 200-meter indoor track always slow her down. But, at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday, she won the 200m dash in 25 minutes, 35 seconds, tying her personal indoor best time in college. Poussot said she anticipates this narrowing of the gap between performance and expectation will bode well for Heptagonals, the biggest meet of the season, which will be held Saturday and Sunday at Harvard.

Though some athletes, like Poussot, competed at Saturday's meet in Jadwin, most members of the men's and women's track teams rested for Heps.

Poussot said she is looking forward both to Harvard's track, which typically produces faster times because it is banked, and to the team enthusiasm that always accompanies the meet. Both factors should help her take her time down to a low 24 seconds.

The women's team placed second to Cornell at Heps last year, and head coach Peter Farrell said the Big Red is again the favorite going into the meet. Still, the Tigers are a balanced team this year and strong in many events.

Princeton will look to its usual leaders to provide the energy necessary to have a good showing. Senior Chanel Lattimer currently leads the Ivy League in the 60m dash and is second behind Yale rival Joslyn Woodard in the 200m dash. Lattimer took fourth place in the 60m dash and second in the 200m dash at last year's Heps. Junior Cack Ferrell has posted the top times in both the mile and the 3,000m run, and her current times indicate a significant improvement over last year. Though she won both events at Heps one year ago, her mile time is now nine seconds faster and her 3,000m time is 21 seconds faster than those winning times. Senior Brooke Minor's personal best jump of five feet, eight inches in the high jump tops the league.

Eight out of nine

The men's team approaches the weekend as the defending Heps champion — the Tigers have claimed the top spot to eight of the past nine years — and head coach Fred Samara said the team hopes to take home another title. While the entire league is performing at a high level and every event should be competitive, Cornell is considered to be this year's overall favorite.

Several members of the team hold the top times in their events in the league. Junior Ray Lenihan leads the 60m hurdles with his time of 8.02, .19 seconds better than the time that earned him third place at Heps last year. The 4x400m relay team is also considered the league's best after recording a time of 3:11 earlier this season. Sophomore Andrew Park has the best pole vault height, while senior Dwaine Banton boasts the top long jump.

A number of team members used Saturday's meet as a tuneup before Heps, while others used it as their last racing opportunity of the season. Columbia, Delaware, Kutztown, Muhlenberg and New Jersey City sent athletes to the invitational, but no team scores were kept.

In addition to her 200m victory, Poussot took second in the 60m dash. Sophomore Catha Mullen placed first in the 800m run with a time of 2:14.04, where she was followed closely by junior Jordan Wagenseller in 2:14.57. Freshman Heather Iatauro topped the 1,000m field with a time of 2:57. All of these athletes will compete at Heps.

On the men's side, most team members rested for Heps, but the pole vaulters used the meet as a chance to prepare. Both Park and junior Kyle Whitaker made the most of their decision to compete, claiming the top two spots. Park vaulted his way into first place with a height of 16 feet, two and three-quarters inches, while Whitaker followed in second place, posting a jump of 15 feet, seven inches.