Track & Field: Princeton narrowly pulls past Penn to take PYP

The women’s team eked out a win in its tri-meet against Penn and Yale in New Haven, Conn., while the men’s team took top honors in six events at the Princeton Quad Meet.

The weekend’s top performer was sophomore Ashley Higginson, who qualified for the NCAA Regional in the steeplechase. The only competitor on the track, Higginson finished in 10 minutes, 37.43 seconds, beating the qualifying time by nearly 13 seconds and adding five points to the team’s score. The qualification is Higginson’s second, as she qualified in the 5,000m run last weekend.

Though Higginson was the only Tiger to qualify for regionals, her teammates also turned in strong performances. Senior Jessica Kloss won the pole vault with a 3.65-meter effort, and freshman Lydia Arias cleared 3.35 meters to take third place in the event.Less high-flying but no less impressive, sophomore Bianca Williams took second place in the triple jump with a 11.48-meter jump, while sophomore KC Wade took second in the high jump with a jump of 1.60 meters. Wade is a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

Princeton also took first in three of the four throwing events, with senior Emma Giunipero winning the discus with a 40.58-meter throw, sophomore Emma Ruggiero finishing first in the hammer throw with a toss of 50.21 meters and sophomore Thanithia Billings taking first place in the shot put on a 13.13-meter effort.

The Tigers were just as successful on the track, winning the 4x100m relay and taking second place in the 4x400m relay. Senior co-captain Agatha Offorjebe won the 200m in 25.70 seconds and placed second in the 400m, finishing in 57.89 seconds. In the 100m, freshman Eileen Moran won in 12.40 seconds, while sophomore Libby Bliss’ 800m time of 2:14.86 was good for third.

The Princeton hurdlers cruised to top-three finishes as well. Sophomore Lauren Barber took second in the 100m hurdles, while sophomore Katherine Sirico finished third in the 400m hurdles.

The long races also saw good performances from Princeton runners. Freshman Alex Banfich was first in the 1,500m run with a time of 4:37.78, while sophomore Brooke Russell took third with a time of 4:41.25. In the 3,000m run, junior Reilly Kiernan and sophomore Sarah Cummings took second and third, finishing with times of 9:49.07 and 9:56.54, respectively. Kiernan is also an associate editor for news for the ‘Prince.’

Back home, the men’s team performed equally well, taking on Penn, Rutgers and Villanova at Weaver Stadium.

Senior Alex Pessala continued his dominance in the hammer throw with a toss of 65.97 meters, leading the competition by more than five meters. Sophomore Craig Pearce took third in that event with a throw of 57.66 meters. In the discus, junior Joel Karacozoff took first on a 45.69 meter throw, while freshman Patrick Park took third, and senior Tim Lanni took fourth. The Tigers shut the competition out of the top three spots in the shot put as junior Eric Plummer’s winning throw of 17.06 meters was followed by a season-high 16.62-meter throw by Park and a 15.40-meter effort by Lanni.

On the track, sophomore Mike Eddy won the 400m, crossing the finish line in 48.14 seconds while freshman Ricky Kearney took third in 49.63 seconds.

In the 400m hurdles, junior Tom Zozokos took first with a time of 54.05 seconds. Senior Chris Vasich’s season-best time of 14.84 seconds in the 110m hurdles was good for second place, while sophomore Adam Thayer’s 15.28 seconds earned him third-place honors.

In long jump and high jump, season bests from sophomore Dion Lehman and junior Ian Fox were good for first place, while junior Scott Henkelman’s 6.69-meter, season-best effort was good for third. In pole vault, junior Chad Faulkner and freshmen Derek Hynes and David Slovenski took second, third and fourth place, respectively.