Coming off a weekend sweep over Ancient Eight rivals Harvard and Yale last weekend at the annual HYPs, the Princeton men's and women's track teams opened up Jadwin Gym on Saturday, Feb. 17 to 10 other schools at the Princeton Invitational.
The Princeton Invitational falls in between two huge competitions for the year: HYP and the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, to be held next weekend. In an effort to give different runners an opportunity to shine and to give those athletes who will compete next weekend a much-needed rest, many of the athletes did not compete in their usual events.
"This meet served a dual purpose — as a finale to the indoor season for those who won't be amongst the 33 girls that are headed to the Ivy League Championships in New York City next weekend," senior captain Caroline Mullen said. "Many of the middle distance runners, sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and throwers that will be competing next week did, however, compete this weekend as a sort of tuneup for the Heptagonal Championships."
The women's performances were once again characterized by distance domination. The women swept all five distance events, proving that they are a force to be reckoned with.
Perhaps the highlight of the Invitational was the Tigers' strong performance in the mile relay. A team comprised of junior captain Leanne Bellar and sophomores Melissa Swigert, Karen Okigbo and Agatha Offorjebe completed the course in a time of just over three minutes and 50 seconds, well ahead of the second place finishers.
The Tigers swept the 800m run once again this weekend, but they used three different runners this week. Junior Mawusi Arnette set her personal best in the race, coming in first with at time of 2:16.06.
The Princeton squad also came away with victories in the 1,000 and 3,000m races and the mile.
The women's 4x400m squad clocked its best time of the season, with a time of three minutes and 50.25 seconds. This placed it in the top-10 all-time in Princeton history, Bellar said.
Going forward, the women will look to use this momentum to carry them into the Heptagonal Championships, held at the 168th Street Armory in New York City next week.
"What is very exciting about this winter's championships is that they are to be held at New York's 168th Street Armory, home of the track and field hall of fame, at one of the fastest banked tracks in the country," Caroline Mullen said.
Men stay strong
The men's team came home with a dominating win last weekend and looked to keep things sharp this weekend at home. Like the women's team, many of the sprinters took the weekend off to prepare for the Heptagonal Championships next weekend, but there were still many highlights in the meet.
Their competition was highlighted by taking seven of the top-10 spots in the one-mile run, as well as winning four other events, including a very strong performance in the field events.
Senior Andrew Park led the Tiger performances by successfully clearing 5.20 meters in the pole vault, qualifying him for the NCAA indoor championships, to be held at the University of Arkansas on March 9-10.
With a long jump of 23 feet and 3.5 inches, freshman Scott Henkelman's record was the top collegiate score. Sophomore Alex Pessala's weight throw of 60 feet, 6.5 inches also was the top collegiate score.
Sophomore Bryan Sharkey led the distance squad with a victory in the one mile, clocking in at four minutes, 14.42 seconds. Junior Robert Grote came in right behind him to take second at 4:17.20.
Freshman Brian Li-A-Ping and senior Aaron Reed finished one-two in the 500 meter run, with times of one minute, 5.91 seconds and one minute, 7.52 seconds respectively.
In the 4x400, Princeton's "A" relay, freshman Tom Zozokos, junior Bill Foran, senior Alex Julie and Li-A-Ping placed first, finishing nearly two full seconds ahead of Kutztown.
Sohpomores Chris Vasich and Duane Hynes finished one-two in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.47 and 8.65 seconds, respectively.
The Tigers plan on taking the momentum from their last two weekends, including their landslide victory at the HYPs, into next weekend's Ivy League Championship meet.
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