Despite the chilly weather, the men's and women's track and field teams put on their light running clothing this weekend to host their first invitational of the outdoor track season. Competing at Princeton's own Weaver Track and Field Stadium, the Tigers challenged opponents from both within and beyond the Ivy League. Despite the low temperatures and harsh winds, the athletes achieved many strong performances, with a handful of individuals achieving NCAA regional marks.
"The Sam Howell Invitational is a great kickoff meet for the track season because it gets us all on the track (or field) in a more relaxed setting with several good teams and competitive athletes," senior Caroline Mullen said in an email. "For example, Villanova is one of the best track teams in the county. Yale and Columbia [are] also great teams, especially on the girls' side, and [they are our] traditional rivals."
Even with the intense competition and only a couple weeks of spring season practice, the Tigers accomplished one strong performance after another.
"The Sam Howell Invite is becoming an increasingly more competitive meet where, as indicated by the results, collegians and post-collegians alike are chasing after early season bests and regional qualifiers. Especially for the distance races, the competition is strong and the setting is excellent for running fast," junior Justin Pines said. "The team performed strongly and showed a lot of promise at this early season invite. A number of guys ran personal bests, and the competition was a great way to gear up for some of the big upcoming meets."
Junior David Nightingale, who earned All-American honors in the mile during the indoor season, kicked off the meet Friday night by winning the 1,500 m, taking first by almost a second. Additionally, Pines finished second in the 5,000 m out of nearly 65 competitors. Senior Paul Rosa, sophomore Brett Campfield and freshman Ben Sitler followed to place ninth, 10th, and 11th, respectively.
The men saw even greater success the following day, especially in the field events. Sophomore Alex Pessala scored the highest collegiate mark in the hammer throw, qualifying for the NCAA regionals competition with a throw of nearly 61 meters.
Freshman Eric Plummer had the most outstanding performance of the meet, placing second in shot put with a toss of 55 feet, eight inches, which earned him a regional qualifying mark.
Fellow freshman Justin Frick dominated the high jump and was the only competitor to clear 2.05 meters. Despite winning the event, Frick barely missed the NCAA regionals standard. Junior Nathan Crumpton had the longest collegiate jump in the long jump at 7.04 meters.
Sophomore Ian Thomson had the strongest performance in the running events, placing third in the 400 m hurdles.
Though the women saw several of their key players out for injuries, including senior captain Catha Mullen, the women still competed strongly and notched several top marks. Freshman Liz Costello mimicked Nightingale's strong run in the 1,500 m to finish a strong second in the 1,500 m, trailing Villanova's Ellen Dougherty by less than a second.
Sophomore Megan Brandeland placed second in the 3,000 m steeplechase, qualifying herself for NCAA regionals with a time of 10:49. Freshman Christy Johnson and sophomore Jolee VanLeuven placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 5,000 meters, but they were the second and third place collegiate runners. Their respective times of 16:40.63 and 16:49.56 earned both underclassmen NCAA regional marks.
In the field, junior Emma Harper placed third in the hammer throw, sophomore Jessica Kloss place third in the pole vault and junior Marta Pardo placed third in the triple jump.
The myriad of athletes on both the women's and men's team earning NCAA regional marks this early in the season hints at a strong season to come.
"While I'm sure everyone would agree that it's great to get out on the outdoor track, the very chilly, windy conditions were not ideal. We will definitely face most of these schools again throughout the season," junior Kurt Kuehne said in an email. "As conditions get better and we get closer and closer to our peak performances, I expect big things from our team. We have a lot of talent balanced over all the events, plus a ton of intensity, so I think Princeton will be a formidable track and field team as we compete for the big meets."
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