Tigers stumble at Heptagonals

Junior Cack Ferrell traveled to the weekend's Heptagonal Championship at Harvard as the defending champion in both the mile and the 3,000-meter run. She was unable to repeat this feat and continue her reign in these events, however, because of the fall she took during the mile.

Ferrell led the race through the fifth lap, holding off several competitors as they unsuccessfully tried to pass her. Halfway through the lap, Cornell's Sara Coseo tried to pass her on the outside and cut her off. Ferrell fell as she was pushed toward the inside of the track, hitting her hip on the track boundary rail. Determined not to immediately concede the race despite her tumble, Ferrell quickly picked herself off the ground and sprinted forward. Though she made up the lost ground and caught up with the pack, she could not regain her place in the lead, finishing the race in eighth place with a time of 4:58. Coseo, the winner, finished in 4:51, 10 seconds slower than Ferrell's personal best time.

Ferrell was not the only one to walk away from Heps disappointed. The women's team finished seventh after two top athletes were unable to compete and others suffered setbacks like that of Farrell.

The men's team took second place behind Cornell, falling just short of achieving their goal of claiming the title. Princeton earned 124 points to Cornell's 147, as both teams easily dominated the other six competing teams. Penn took third with 81 and was followed by Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Harvard and Columbia.

The men's team was powered by the wins of several key athletes. Sophomore Richard Stewart took first in the 500m dash and was followed in second place by senior teammate Mike Kopp. The Tigers' 4x400m relay team, composed of sophomore Dan Saltzman, senior Justin Reed, Stewart and Kopp also posted a victory. Senior Dwaine Banton won the long jump with a leap of 7.54 meters, provisionally qualifying for NCAA championships.

Senior Alexis Tingan also contributed to the team's runner-up finish, earning third place in the 800m run with a time of 1:52. Freshman Dave Nightingale ran 4:12 to capture fifth place in the mile race, while junior Frank Macreery earned points by running to third place in the 5,000m run. Junior Ray Lenihan took second in the 60m hurdles.

Off the track, Princeton came in second and third in both the pole vault and the weight throw. Sophomore Andrew Park and junior Kyle Whitaker placed in the pole vault, while junior Kenneth Stringer and sophomore Matt McNamara earned points in the weight throw.

In the women's team competition, Cornell ran away with the title, earning 154 points. Yale, the nearest competitor, followed with 74 points. The Tigers, in seventh place, collected only 46.

Princeton suffered two major losses before the races even began. Seniors Jenn Byrd and Chanel Lattimer, the team's captains, were unable to compete due to injury. Lattimer hurt herself in practice the week before the meet, while Byrd's injury came much later, during her warmup at Heps.

Things got even worse when senior Carrie Strickland, captain of the cross-country team, was disqualified in the mile race after stepping out of her lane, and the 4x400m relay team dropped the baton.

Despite these difficulties, junior Juliette Poussot helped the Tigers earn points, placing in both of her races. She ran 7.75 in the 60m dash to take third and picked up fourth place in the 200m dash with a time of 25.24. Sophomore Catha Mullen continued her stellar season with a fourth-place finish in the mile in 4:52. Senior Brooke Minor took fourth in the high jump, and senior Christi Niehans placed third in the pole vault.

The men's team's indoor season ended at Heps, but several members of the women's team will travel to Boston this weekend for ECACs . Ferrell will skip ECACs but will compete at the NCAA Nationals in Arkansas the following weekend, hoping to end her season on a positive note after this weekend's catastrophe.