One week ago, the swimming and diving teams set a high bar for Princeton athletics by sweeping both the men's and women's annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton meets. Saturday at Jadwin Gym, both track and field teams equaled their aquatic counterparts' achievement in resounding fashion.
On the men's side, Princeton routed the competition by winning 13 of the 16 events, accumulating 119 points to Yale's 36 and Harvard's 15. The women's side earned a meet-winning 66.5 points to Harvard's 53 and Yale's 39.5.
In the women's meet, sophomore Agatha Offorjebe won both the 200- and 400-meter dashes, while a top-three sweep in the 800 and two late relay victories sealed the overall win for the Tigers.
In the field, freshman Christine Vidmar led Princeton's second, third and fourth place finishes in the weight throw while also notching second place in the shot put.
Sophomore Jessica Kloss staved off three Harvard challengers to take the pole vault, as junior Marta Pardo and sophomore Christina Argyros took runner-up spots in the triple jump and high jump, respectively.
Junior Heather Iatauro fueled a second- through forth-place finish in the mile, while freshman Liz Costello catalyzed the 10-point taking of the 800. In the 3,000m, sophomore Jolee VanLueven led another second, third, fourth-place Princeton finish.
For Offorjebe, her two wins came as part of an overall strong team effort.
"Last year we lost to Yale by one point, so just to win [as a team] this year was great," Offorjebe said. "And in order to win the whole meet, each part of the track team needs to do [its] part. I did my part in order to win."
The men's meet was characterized by strong performances all around. In the field, sophomore Alex Pessala won the weight throw with 18.51 meters, more than two meters farther than the second-place finisher.
In the shot put, freshman Eric Plummer, freshman Joel Karacozoff and sophomore Tim Lanni took second, third and fourth, while senior Andrew Park led a Tiger sweep of the top four finishes in the pole vault.
Sophomore Duane Hynes fueled a 1-2 finish in the long jump, junior Nathan Crumpton led a 1-2-3 sweep of a finish in the triple jump and freshman Justin Frick ignited another solid 1-2 Princeton victory in the high jump.
Princeton's dominance was not limited to just the field events, either.
In the only two track events in which the Tigers did not take first — the 60-meter hurdles and the 60-meter dash — Princeton athletes still took places 2-3 and 2-4 respectively, led by sophomore Chris Vasich in the hurdles and junior Ray Simnick in the dash.
In the mile, junior David Nightingale edged sophomore teammate Michael Maag for the win. Meanwhile, sophomore Ian Thomson outraced senior Brian Shields for victory in the 400.
Senior Richard Stewart took the 500m, junior Kurt Kuehne and Collin Plummer went 1-2 in the 800m and senior Eric Beights took the 1,000m for a Princeton sweep of the middle-distance events.
Junior James O'Toole led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 3,000m, while both the 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams pulled out victories. While the 4x800 win was relatively close— it came by just more than one second in a nearly eight-minute race — by that point in the day the overall meet result had long been a foregone conclusion.
Both the men's and women's performances bode well for the upcoming Ivy League Heptagonal meets.
"It shows we're doing well and what we need to improve," Offorjebe said. "But it's a lot of positive energy and positive attitude going into Heps. "
Read More
No. 7 women’s lacrosse season ends in NCAA quarterfinals against No. 1 UNC
Hayk YengibaryanWith the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.
With the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.
No. 3 men’s lacrosse season ends in NCAA quarterfinals after 19–18 loss to No. 5 Syracuse
Hayk YengibaryanWith the win, Syracuse advances to the final four for the first time since 2013. For the Tigers, their season ends along with the career of senior standout attacker Coulter Mackesy.
With the win, Syracuse advances to the final four for the first time since 2013. For the Tigers, their season ends along with the career of senior standout attacker Coulter Mackesy.
Preview: No. 3 men’s lacrosse plays No. 5 Syracuse in NCAA quarterfinals
Hayk YengibaryanShould the Tigers beat the Orange, they will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 as they look to win their first national championship since 2001.
Should the Tigers beat the Orange, they will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 as they look to win their first national championship since 2001.