Big meet in New York goes well for Princeton

Both the men's and women's indoor track and field teams battled stiff competition Friday at the New Balance Gotham Cup, which featured 2,000 athletes and a field of nearly three dozen opponents, including national powerhouses Texas and Villanova, as well as archrival Harvard.

Though the invitational's team results weren't calculated, the Tigers left New York City proud of their performances as a team. The women won the distance medley by almost half a minute. Similarly, the men posted impressive finishes in the long-distance races, taking three of the top four spots in the 5,000 meters.

"We used that meet as a stepping stone for the rest of the season," men's head coach Fred Samara said. "We had a spectacular performance, so we're very pleased."

Senior Andrew Park was triumphant in the men's pole vault, posting a 4.95m vault — almost a foot above the second-place finisher. Junior Nick Crumpton, who is a senior photographer for The Daily Princetonian, was Princeton's top finisher in the long jump, jumping 6.98m for seventh place. Sophomore Alex Pessala added to the Tigers' string of strong finishes, winning the weight throw with his 17.71m toss.

In the distance events, the return of Princeton's league-champion cross-country runners from their month-long hiatus gave the Tigers a real boost. Junior Frank Tinney captured first in the 5,000m with a time of 14 minutes, 38.55 seconds, while his teammates, junior Justin Pines — 14:39.19 — and senior Paul Rosa — 14:50.96 — took second and fourth, respectively. And in what Samara considers "probably the most outstanding performance," junior David Nightingale, sophomore Michael Maag and junior James O'Toole finished fourth through sixth in the 3,000m.

Princeton was third in the distance medley, behind Iona and Texas, and fourth in the 4x400 relay. In the sprints, senior Richard Stewart was third in the 400m dash in a field of 75 competitors. Junior Ray Semnick and freshman Andrew Usoro were both near their personal bests in the 60m dash.

Sophomore Duane Hynes, who did not compete at the Gotham Cup, qualified for the NCAA Finals in the Heptathlon yesterday after recording personal bests in all seven events. His 5,640 points currently make for the number-one score in the nation in that event.

The much-improved women's indoor team also posted several outstanding performances, both on and off the track. Sophomore Jessica Kloss continued her reign of dominance in the pole vault with a 3.60m first-place vault.

Senior Mia Swenson won the 5,000m in 16:53.44 and sophomore Jolee VanLeuven was right behind her in second. Junior Caitlin McTague was fourth in 17:37.39.

Princeton was equally successful Friday in the mid-distance events. Junior Karen Aherne crossed the finish line second in the 800m, with a time of 2:17.62, and sophomore Katie Thaedar was fifth in the one-mile run in 5:17.56. In the 1,000m, freshman Liz Costello was third, clocking in at 2:51.67.

Depth was the advantage for the Tigers in the relay events. The all-freshman distance medley team of Christy Johnson, Liz Costello, Maria Fasolino and Alexa Glencer cruised to a first-place finish in a combined 11:55.48. Juniors Aherne, Mamusi Arnett, Katheryn Dennison and Heather Iatauro took second place in the 4x800m relay in a time of 9:18.55.

Elsewhere on the track, senior Catha Mullen, juniors Liz Bergold and Leanne Bellar and freshman Reilly Kiernan all posted top-five individual finishes. Kiernan is also a staff writer for the 'Prince.'