Runners finally up and going outdoors

If the men's indoor track and field squad was considered an underdog this past winter season, you would have never guessed it by looking back at the team's results. The Tigers had a strong season from start to finish, which included a team victory in the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet and a second-place finish at the Indoor Heptagonals, the Ivy League indoor track and field championship meet.

"A lot of other schools doubted we'd be able to compete for the title this year," senior hurdler Ray Lenihan said. "But everyone really gave it their all at that meet and we were really proud of our performance."

That sentiment was echoed by freshman teammate Alex Pessala.

"Our second place finish was a surprise to a lot of the other teams," Pessala said. "Although we fell 20 points short of the championship, our team really came together and competed well when it counted."

The Tigers' strong showing at Heps should have come as no surprise to those familiar with the squad. The team demonstrated uncommon depth in perennially competitive events.

"The most impressive individual performance I witnessed by one of my teammates this season was actually something that involved three of them," Lenihan said. "We took three of the top four spots in the 3k at Heps. [Sophomore] Dave Nightingale won it, with [senior] Frank MacCreery coming in second and [Freshman] Michael Maag took fourth."

Though Princeton was unable to earn enough points to come away with the title, its outstanding finish has given the team a confidence boost as the outdoor season approaches.

"Heading into the outdoor season we have very high expectations," Lenihan said. "We expect to win Heps this season, with the addition of a few throwing events that don't take place indoors."

Lenihan wasted no time in turning this goal into a reality. At the first meet of the season in San Diego, Calif., over spring break, Lenihan took first place in the 110-meter hurdles. Judging by the number of teammates who joined him on the podium throughout the course of the day, it was clear that the Tigers have not lost a step from the indoor season.

Strong indoor finish

On the women's side, the indoor season was marked by an outstanding series of final performances and provided a number of reasons to get excited about the future of women's track and field at Princeton.

Senior All-American Cack Ferrell's final indoor season was among the strongest by any Tiger in recent history. Although Ferrell would be the first person to tell you that track is a team sport, her individual impact on the Tigers' indoor season was enormous.

Ferrell took Co-Athlete of the Meet honors at the women's Indoor Heps after winning both the mile and 3,000-meter races. Ferrell's efforts helped the Orange and Black secure a fifth-place finish in the meet, two places better than the team's finish last season season.

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Just a few days later, Ferrell once again proved that she was among the fastest in the nation, finishing fourth in the 3,000m race at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Ferrell's performance at nationals was impressive even to those who have seen her run for the past four years.

"The most impressive performance, by far, this season was Cack Ferrell's 3,000m performance at Nationals in Arkansas," senior teammate Laura Landry said. "She is an incredibly strong role model for everyone on the team, on and off the track."

Although the team will be losing Ferrell after this spring, there are several athletes who are ready to fill the gap left by her departure.

Two freshmen who made an immediate impact were sprinter Agatha Offorjebe and pole-vaulter Jessica Kloss. Both freshmen had individual victories in their first season as Princeton athletes.

"Even though I'm graduating and won't get to be around to see the amazing performances they will have in the coming years, I am excited for the incredible impacts they will each have on Princeton women's track in the future," Landry said.

The Tigers will look to use this combination of young talent and veteran leadership to make a run at a podium finish at the outdoor Heps Championship.