Nightingale takes eighth in NCAA mile title race

In college sports, the stage can grow no larger than the NCAA Championships. The track and field team rose to the occasion in the last meet of the indoor season, as every Tiger participant — two individuals and one relay team — notched a top-10 finish.

Overall, the Wisconsin men took home the title in Fayetteville, Ark. while Arizona State won on the women's side, but the Princeton athletes more than held their own against the nation's best. Junior David Nightingale finished eighth in the mile run final, the women's distance medley team also crossed the line at eighth and sophomore Duane Hynes placed 10th in the heptathalon.

"Everyone goes to the meet with a common goal. Of course, there is some variation — some want to win, others want to set records — but basically, everyone wants to get All-American," senior captain Catha Mullen said.

After making good on a couple second chances, Nightingale did just that.

Nightingale qualified for Nationals in the mile run at last weekend's University of Washington Last Chance meet with a fast time of four minutes, 01.61 seconds. In Arkansas, Nightingale was running fourth in his preliminary heat with 400 m to go, right behind Lionel Manzano of the University of Texas and Colin Costello of Arkansas. Costello fell with 300 m remaining, and Nightingale was forced to jump off the track, losing 10 to 15 feet to his opponents.

The Princeton star finished in 4:05.92, which was not initially fast enough to advance to the finals. The Tigers filed a protest, since Nightingale had been impeded by another runner. After the first video replay in the history of the NCAA Indoor championships, Nightingale was allowed to run in the final, though Costello was ruled ineligible despite a protest by his coach.

Nightingale did not disappoint, beating his preliminary time by over two seconds, running the mile in 4:03.13. The field was tightly packed and he finished just over three seconds behind Leonel Manzano of the University of Texas, who eclipsed the four-minute mark in his winning effort.

As a top-eight finisher, Nightingale was automatically named an All-American.

Seeded ninth after qualifying for the meet with an impressive time of 11:13.47 seconds at the ECAC Championships, the women's medley relay team knew a top-eight finish and All-American honors were within its grasp.

"We were very excited about our prospects going into the race," Mullen, who ran the 1600 m anchor leg, said. "Our plan was basically just to execute—to repeat what we had done from the week before ... Everyone on the team did a good job of doing just that."

Freshman Christy Johnson, who set a personal record in the qualifying race, started the relay with yet another personal best in the 1200 m, giving Princeton some momentum as she handed off the baton. Sophomore Agatha Offorjebe and freshman Liz Costello sped around the track in the 400 m and 800 m, respectively, and then handed over a ninth-place position to Mullen.

Needing to move up one spot, Mullen closed a 15-meter gap with a time just one second off her personal best in the 1600 m, crossing the finish line in eighth. Her strong finish and the team's time of 11:14.20 launched the Tigers to an eighth=place finish and All-American status.

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"The relay team was amazingly poised for such a group of young runners," Mullen said. "Each girl performed well and did what she needed to do."

Meanwhile, heptathlete Hynes had been ready for Nationals since qualifying in December with a score of 5,640, which was the ninth-best total in the nation during the season.

After the first day of the heptathlon events, Hynes stood in eighth place with 3,072 points, 244 behind the leader. He finished fourth in two of the day's four events, the long jump, where he leapt 7.04 m, and the high jump, where he reached a vertical of 2.1 m.

Hynes continued to excel on the second day with a pole vault of 4.50 m and a time of 2:47 in the 1,000 m. He was unable to maintain his standing, falling to a 10th place finish with 5,453 points. Hynes was the highest-placing underclassman in the heptathlon, and he was only 25 points behind ninth-place Hans Uldal of Missouri.

Just being invited to the NCAA Championships is an honor, and the Tigers not only proved that they belonged there, but that they will also be a force for years to come. As just one NCAA representative is a senior, the rest will look forward to more trips to the big stage in the future.