Men aim for triple crown

The cross country season may be over, but look for the same familiar distance standouts to be a force on the track this winter. The men's and women's track and field teams begin their seasons this Saturday with the New Year's Invitational in Jadwin Gym. The distance runners will likely still be recovering from the fall season, but for the other athletes who have been training since October, it will be a chance to finally compete.

"The goal is to establish where we are in this next meet," senior tri-captain Caitlin McTague said. "It will be a mark to see where we are before leaving for the break."

Last winter, the men won Heptagonals in the final relay with their strength across all the events, while the women finished fourth at Heps by relying heavily on their distance runners. The women also sent a quartet to NCAAs to compete in the distance medley relay, where they finished eighth.

The men return senior Dave Nightingale, who won the 3K and 5K at Heps and went on to finish eighth at NCAAs in the mile. In the distance events, Nightingale will be backed up by his fellow cross-country runners, who have been impressive so far this year. But what makes the men's squad a threat to repeat as Ivy champions this year is its additional strength in other events.

"As far as the Ivy League is concerned, we would like to win it all," said junior Shafiq Kashmiri, one of the team's top returning sprinters.

While the sprint group graduated a couple of top finishers last year, including 500-meter champion Steward Richard '07, a solid group of returners should fill in most of the gaps. Kashmiri in the 60-meter dash and junior Ian Thomson in the 400-meter dash, along with sophomore Brian Li-A-Ping in the 500, will lead the sprinters this year, each having finished in the top six at last year's Heps. Freshmen including Mike Eddy, who ran 48.84 for the 400m in high school, should also step up.

"As long as the team stays healthy, we have a better shot than last year to win the triple crown," Kashmiri said.

Last season, the Tigers just fell short of winning Ivy League titles in all three seasons, the elusive triple crown, as they lost the outdoor Heps title to Cornell. Kashmiri said the added pressure may have played a role in the loss.

This season, junior Duane Hynes, who finished 10th at last year's indoor NCAA meet in the pentathlon, should again be a force. Sophomore Justin Frick, who has a personal best of seven feet, one-quarter inches in the high jump, leaped his way to a berth in the NCAA meet last spring. For the throwers, Princeton returns junior Alex Pessala, last year's Hep's weight throw champion, and sophomore Eric Plummer, who finished third in the shotput.

The women's team also looks to have a solid team this year after a brilliant performance at last year's outdoor Heps and an even more spectacular cross country season this year.

"After having such a strong cross country team, the goal now is to have a well-balanced team and try to make the team more cohesive," McTague said. "The focus is trying to make the team more aware of the common goal that we all have."

The women's team will be led in the distance events by sophomores Liz Costello and Christy Johnson, who dominated the Heps cross country field to finish first and second, respectively, this fall. Costello was competitive in a tough 800m field at Heps to finish fourth last year, while Johnson finished fourth in the mile and 3K. The Tigers also return junior Jolee VanLeuven, who was third in the 5K.

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

Juniors Agatha Offorjebe and Karen Okigbo will lead this year's sprint squad, as both were top scorers at Heps last winter.

Senior Marta Pardo will be the biggest factor for the Tigers in the long jump and triple jump, having made large improvements last year. She's accompanied in the jumps by junior Christina Argyros, who was Princeton's top finisher in the high jump last winter.

Despite a disappointing fourth-place finish at last year's indoor Heps, the women's team bounced back, placing an impressive second at the outdoor Heps championship.

"Our strongest showing last year was our outdoor meet at Heps, and it took us a while to get there," McTague said. "But now, having that confidence and the confidence that we can compete at the level that we should be at, will help us a lot this year, despite having a young team."

If this year's momentum is any indicator of success to come, the Ivy League better prepare itself, because both teams seem ready for another impressive season.