Men, women to host Heptagonals

As bands take the stage all down the Street this weekend, Princetonians who wander down to Weaver Track & Field Stadium will find there's something to cheer about there, too. In the culmination of a year of training, the men's and women's track teams will be defending Weaver Stadium in the Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Championships this Saturday and Sunday.

For the men, having already won the cross country and indoor track championships this year, this weekend presents a chance to claim the triple crown. For the women, the championship is a chance to improve on their fourth-place showing at the indoor championships in February.

"The triple crown is no accident," senior Tom Brennan said. "Our coaches presented us with that as a goal at our end-of-season banquet last spring, and it's certainly been a driving force for the team."

The men's track team won this honor three years in a row between the 1997-98 and 1999-2000 seasons, but it's no easy feat.

"It's going to be a very good team battle," men's head coach Fred Samara said. "From September to May, you have to keep the team motivated and healthy and competing at the highest level. A track team is never 100 percent healthy because the season is so long and things come up, but motivation isn't even an issue — and the more people we have watching and cheering the better it will be."

After training and competing side-by-side all season, the teams have developed similar strategies for the weekend. Both hope to use their depth to overcome tough competition from Cornell. In the outdoor championships, the men have placed second to Cornell by slim margins the past two years. Last February, Princeton took the indoor championship title in a three-point victory over Cornell, 154-151. On the women's side, Cornell has won both the indoor and outdoor championships for the past five years.

"They have some pretty strong guns in their senior class, but we're looking to make a dent," women's head coach Peter Farrell said. "We're looking to move up from fourth. This is the focal point of the whole season, and our team has been working hard since September."

With five distance runners who have qualified for regionals and several field athletes who have set personal records recently, the team also hopes to challenge the other traditional powerhouses — Penn and Brown.

"I really think we are going to do better this year — there were some amazing performances last weekend at Penn Relays and at TCNJ," sophomore sprinter Agatha Offorjebe said. "It seems like every time someone competes they hit a personal record ... We have some really great freshmen this year and the veterans have come back strong. Overall this year, and this season especially, we are just a well-rounded team. I think every subgroup is doing what they need to do to be successful."

The men's team will similarly be leveraging its success in multiple areas of competition to challenge its rivals this weekend.

"This team is much deeper than it was last year," senior sprinter Brian Shields said. "We're going to have guys scoring this year in the discus, 400 m hurdles, shot put and triple jump. Last year, Cornell beat us by scoring big in some of those events while we got nothing. Also, we're stronger this year in the events we scored in last year, primarily the sprints."

With the weekend drawing near, both teams are focused on mentally preparing themselves for a performance they have been working toward all year.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"We have trained all year for these two days of competition, so it is really important that we stay focused and do what we have to do," Offorjebe said.

As for the men's side, "the guys understand what we're poised to do this weekend, and we are confident and well prepared going in," junior distance runner Justin Pines said.