Princeton runs well at Sam Howell

Sophomore Richard Stewart makes running the hurdles look natural, but his victory in the 400-meter hurdle race on Saturday was in fact the result of using a carefully calculated formula. Stewart knows that to successfully clear all 10 hurdles around the track without stuttering or hitting them, he needs to take 15 steps between each hurdle. Every hurdler has his own number of steps, but for Stewart, 15 is the magic number.

His technique helped him achieve both his career best time and a first-place finish. Stewart ran a time of 53.93 seconds, knocking a full second off his previous best of 54.9 seconds, which was set just two weeks ago. He credited his rapid improvement to increased endurance and more time spent working on his steps.

Stewart was not the only athlete to have a successful race at Weaver Track on Friday and Saturday. At the Sam Howell Invitational, the opening meet of the outdoor track season, both the men's and women's teams fared well. Team scores were not kept, but many individuals posted excellent early-season times.

On the women's side, junior Cack Ferrell kicked off her outdoor season with a win in the 5,000m race. She posted a time of 16:35, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA championships. Ferrell was followed by two teammates: junior Meredith Lambert took fourth place with her time of 16:58, and senior Marian Bihrle finished sixth in 17:01.

Sophomore Claire Filloux also took first in her event, the 10,000m run, with a time of 36:55. Filloux said she was able to follow her plan: go out more slowly and then pick up the pace as the race went along. She had never before run a 10,000 on the track — she was injured during the outdoor track season last year — so the time was a personal best for her.

Junior Juliette Poussot placed third in both the 100m dash and the 200m dash. She ran a time of 12.38 seconds in the 100 and 25.04 in the 200. Poussot also ran in the 4x100m relay with freshmen Caroline Brody and Leanne Bellar and senior Chanel Lattimer.

Junior Suzanne Andrews placed fourth in a competitive field in the 3,000m steeplechase and set a new personal record with her time of 10:40. Junior Lindsay Cole took third in the 800m run with her time of 2:13, while sophomore Catha Mullen ran 4:31 in the 1,500m race to nab third place.

In the field events, senior Brooke Minor took second in the high jump, while junior Meredith Mante won the pole vault. Senior Amy Krilla placed second in the javelin throw.

Men look strong

The men's team also turned in several excellent performances. Senior Justin Reed took third place in the 400m run, posting a time of 49.39. Additionally, Reed teamed up with sophomore Daniel Saltzman, Stewart and senior Mike Kopp to win the 4x400m relay.

Senior Alexis Tingan took second in the 800m run with a time of 1:50, while freshman Frank Tinney took fourth in the 10,000m race. Junior Ray Lenihan placed third in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.72.

In the field events, senior Mike Weishuhn took first in the high jump with a height of six feet, eight and three-quarters inches and was followed by sophomore teammate Tim Edmond, who jumped a height of 6'4.75". Edmond also placed second in the long jump and was followed closely by junior teammate Derek Davis. Sophomore Andrew Park took second in the pole vault.

For Stewart, this weekend's race moved him just part of the way toward his larger goal. He said he hopes to cut another two seconds off his time to run under 52 seconds in the 400m hurdles. Each meet between now and Heptagonals provides an opportunity for him to master those 15 steps.

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Next weekend, the men's and women's teams will part ways. The men will compete against Villanova at home, while the women will take on Yale and Penn in Philadelphia.