Field athletes take starring role in women's win

Individual accolades are great, but beating your Ivy League rivals is even better.

Princeton edged out host Penn, 84-79, while Yale placed a distant third with a total of 39 points.

“If they’re keeping score then we want to win, especially when it involves two old in-league rivals,” head coach Peter Farrell said.

The win would not have been possible without a few crucial contributions, especially a terrific individual performance by senior Leanne Bellar. She earned eight points for the team, running a college personal-best time of 56.83 seconds in the 400m dash and placing second in the 200m in 25.87 seconds.

“It was very rewarding after working hard on the track for four years,” Bellar said. “It is also fun to win an event and contribute to the overall team score.”

A pair of rookies, Lauren Barber and Bianca Mathabane, also contributed to the Tigers’ victory, placing first and second, respectively, in the 100m hurdles, with times of 14.58 and 14.74. Freshman Katherine Sirico won the 400m hurdles in 1:02.77, while freshman Liz Deir edged junior teammate Megan Brandeland to win the 3,000m steeplechase in 10:43.11.

Princeton earned 48 of its 84 team points in the field, as senior Emma Harper led a Princeton sweep in the hammer throw with a distance of 156 feet, seven inches. Junior Emma Guinipero’s 143’5” won the discus, and freshman Isabell on Loga tossed 47’9.25” for a shot put victory.

“I think that we have a strong throwing contingent this year, not only in the hammer, but also in all the other events,” Harper said. “In the past our field events have not been this strong, so I’m glad to see that we’re becoming more of a significant force.”

Like the throwers, the jumpers also posted strong finishes, led by a one-two sweep of the pole vault by junior Jessica Kloss and senior Courtney Regan. Freshman Bianca Williams won the triple jump in 37’04”, while sophomore Aundeah Kearney jumped a personal-best 18’2.5” to place second in the long jump. In the high jump, senior Abby Campbell and sophomore Liz Stevens tied for second, both clearing 5’3”.

On the men’s side, Saturday’s meet was of a somewhat different nature. The meet was not scored, enabling each competitor to focus on his individual performance.

“Every one of us [is] aiming to improve our times and distances, qualify for NCAA Regionals and the like,” junior sprinter Shafiq Kashmiri said of the meet’s implications.

Kashmiri, who has been battling a hip injury all year, won the 100m dash in 10.74 and placed second in the 200m with an Ivy League-best time of 21.2.

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In perhaps the most impressive individual performance of the day, sophomore Eric Plummer beat his personal best by nearly two feet to win the shot put with a throw of 59’9.5”. Head coach Fred Samara noted that this distance is the farthest recorded by any college thrower on the East Coast.

“After being injured most of the indoor season, to be able to come out [Saturday] and not only have myself throw well but the other shot putters also throw well was a blessing,” Plummer said.

Sophomore high jumper Ian Fox also had a great day, qualifying for the NCAA Regionals with a winning jump of 6’10.75”. Sophomore Tom Zozokos barely missed qualifying for the Regionals with a meet-best 52.62 in the 400m hurdles.

“The team is starting to come alive now,” Plummer said. “I am sure that when May 10th and 11th come around, we will be in full force and ready to take our Heps title back from Cornell.”