Princeton pumped for Heps

While most students dropped everything to hit the books this past weekend, isolating themselves within Firestone's stacks or the Friend Center's glass shell, the Princeton cross country team continued its daily routine, practicing hard with an eye on one of the biggest meets of the year: the Heptagonal Championships.

Though practices this week for both the men's and women's teams lightened up slightly, the athletes still divided their concentration between academics and the track.

"For any championship meet — Heps, Nationals, Regionals — we always taper, which just means that we reduce our mileage a little this week from what we've been doing so that we're fresh for the meet," senior Paul Rosa said. "Our hardest workout of the week was last Saturday."

The men's team, however, hasn't taken it too lightly. Looking to steal the crown from 2005 winner Dartmouth, the harriers have been working hard all season to capture the title that has eluded them for over six years.

"Our biggest opponent is definitely Dartmouth. They won last year and they have their top two, Ben True and Alec Wall, returning," Rosa said. "We beat them at Pre-Nats, but the run for the Heps title will be very close."

Though the team looks forward to challenging Dartmouth for the title, the individual competition this year will also be fierce. Last year's defending individual champion Ben True of Dartmouth is returning. With Princeton's powerhouse duo of sophomore Michael Maag and junior Dave Nightingale, however, a Tiger may stand at the top, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since 1999.

Another potential star this weekend is Ben Sitler, the Tigers' sole freshman competing at the Heps. Sitler made a smooth and quick transition into college running and has consistently been one of Princeton's top runners.

In addition to these three standout runners, Princeton's greatest strength this season has been its depth, which will be a crucial factor for winning the championship.

"The strongest part of our team is the depth. In any given race, we have six or seven guys that all can fill our 4-7," Rosa said. "That's something none of the other teams at Heps really have. It's definitely the strongest team I've been on since I've been here."

In addition to Dartmouth, Columbia may also prove to be a hurdle. Both teams have their handful of star runners. Though Princeton clearly has its share, the team has been working on unity and team strength throughout the season, an emphasis that just might be the key to winning.

"We expect to be right there with Dartmouth battling for the win," junior James O'Toole said. "Heps is a really unpredictable meet, but we've been working hard all year and I think we're prepared."

Goal is one place higher

Coming in second last year, the women will also be facing a challenge this weekend to strip last year's winner Columbia of its title. Luckily for the women, however, Columbia lost some key players and is not ranked much higher than the rest of the competition.

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After laboring and practicing hard all season, the women also tapered this week and had two individual practices to accommodate for the stress of midterms. Because of its strength in training, the team remains positive heading into this weekend.

"We're going into the Heps very optimistically," senior Carolina Mullen said. "We've had a fantastic season so far, with an undefeated record going into the Pre-National Invitational, and although our performance at Pre-Nats was not as strong as we would like, it will keep us very levelheaded going into the Ivy League championship. I think [our biggest opponent] this year will be somewhat up in the air. Traditionally Columbia has been our greatest rival."

Though Columbia will prove to be one of the strongest teams this weekend, several other schools, including Yale and Penn, will bring a horde of strong runners. Both schools have several key veterans returning to the field in Lindsay Donaldson of Yale and the Kim twins from Penn. The Tigers, for their part, will bring a deep and determined squad to the meet. Despite the midterm stress, the athletes have remained levelheaded and focused on this big weekend.

"I think the girls have been handling the stress of midterm week with extraordinary grace and ease — that includes the freshmen," senior Catha Mullen said. "I've said this before: the freshmen assimilated beautifully into both the pace of college running and the pace of college life. The freshmen competing this weekend are each poised to run a very good race."

In addition to the team strength, the Tigers' own senior Mia Swenson will be racing for the top individual title this weekend. With strong performances this entire season, she may turn out to be the first across the line, with sophomore Jolee vanLeuven, the team's number two runner, right behind her.

"These girls have been very tough this year, even with the mounting competition and increased school pressure and stress, and I think that they will have a fine showing on Friday morning," Carolina Mullen said. "I expect that if everyone runs the way that they've been running all season, and in workouts, that we should do very well."