Hopes are high after XC wins

Some athletes complain that their seasons last too long. Only runners, however, can claim a season that extends nine months, from early September to June. Next Friday, the indoor track season, which bridges the gap between the cross-country season in the fall and the outdoor track season in the spring, will begin.

The indoor track season bridges the gap between the cross-country season in the fall and the outdoor track season in the spring. This year's indoor season will culminate in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Columbia on Feb. 24 and 25. The contest's winner will be awarded the Ivy League title. Princeton's men's team finished second overall in 2006, scoring 102 points. Cornell scored 122 points and earned its third Ivy League title in four years; Princeton won in 2004.

Despite Cornell's recent Ivy League dominance, the graduation of standout 1,000-meter champion Gordon Wu may make the Big Red vulnerable this year. Cornell, however, is not the only team Princeton has to look out for this season: Penn is also expected to make a run for the title.

One advantage that Cornell and Penn have over Princeton is transfer students. When the University decided to stop accepting transfers, varsity coaches were left without a valuable tool. Transfers allow teams to plug holes in a roster immediately, instead of having to wait for young athletes to mature while new holes develop. Cornell's three new transfers may mean the difference between first and second place for the Big Red.

Samara is confident in his team's ability to win the league championship, however. The Tigers are, for the most part, a well-balanced team. The long distance squad, led by All-American junior Dave Nightingale, is fresh off an Ivy League title in cross-country. In the mid-distance and field events, the team is also impressive. But short distance could very well be Princeton's Achilles' heel.

The Tigers' first meet of the winter, the New Year Invitational on Dec. 8, will offer Samara a chance to show off his freshman class. The Tiger's 69-man roster includes 19 highly touted freshmen recruits. Among them is sprinter Andrew Usoro who looks to make an immediate impact on the title hunt. High jumpers Ian Fox and Justin Frick, long jumper Scott Henkelman, shot putter Joel Karacozoff and pole-vaulter Chad Faukner hope to shore up Princeton's already strong field events in their first year with the team.

"We think we have a really good but young team, so it will be interesting to see how the athletes develop during the year," said Samara, who is in his 29th year of coaching the Tigers.

Women reload for indoor season

Women's head coach Peter Farrell is also counting on his freshman class, which has already proven its worth in the distance events during the cross country season, to elevate his team's performance from last year's fifth-place finish at Heps. But Princeton will have to contend with the loss of seven-time All-American and three-time Princeton record-holder Cack Ferrell '06.

"Though we lost our flagship [Cack Ferrell], a real team emerged behind her," Farrell said.

Leading the charge for the Tigers is a tight-knit group of long distance runners, who are coming off a disappointing 23rd-place finish at last week's NCAA Cross Country Championships. Freshmen Christy Johnson, Liz Costello, Alexa Glencer and Reilly Kiernan will enhance what was already a formidable long distance team.

The women struggled in the sprints last year, but Farrell is excited about his sophomore sprinter, Agatha Offorjebe, who as a freshman last winter was easily Princeton's fastest short distance runner.

"Agatha looks terrific this year. She's like the lynchpin of the sprint world for us; she does everything from the 100 to the 400," Farrell said.

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The mid-distance and field events are also improved significantly from last year. Juniors Karen Aherne and Liz Bergold are poised to build on their All-Ivy League performances in the 4x800 relay, with the assistance of sophomore Melissa Swigert, whom Farrell cited as perhaps his most improved athlete from a year ago. In the field events, Princeton boasts a solid, though small, core of athletes, including sophomore Jessica Kloss, the 2006 league champion pole-vaulter, junior long jumper Marta Pardo and freshman thrower Christine Vidmar.

As in men's indoor track, Cornell is a consistent Ivy League juggernaut in women's running. The Big Red is also returning a strong nucleus from last year's championship team. There is parity among the remaining seven teams in the conference, however. Though Princeton finished in the bottom half of the Ancient Eight last year, it was only 35 points behind second-place Yale.

Since the team lacks depth in the sprint and field events, staying healthy will be the key to a successful season. If the Orange and Black can avoid injuries, they may find themselves in good shape to make a run for Heps in February.

"The team seems to have a really good spirit, and I think that's going to translate into a much better performance this year," Farrell said.