Buoyed by one of the strongest recruiting classes in recent memory, the men’s and women’s indoor track teams look poised to have record-breaking seasons, not only in the Ivy League, but in regional and national meets as well.
On the men’s side, head coach Fred Samara said that this year’s squad is “one of our best teams ever [because of] the tremendous recruiting year.”
“We’ll be relying on a lot of freshmen,” he added.
A newcomer who is sure to shine this season is freshman Conor McCullough, the U.S. national high school record-holder in the hammer and 25-pound weight throw. McCullough will likely face a limited winter season to prepare for the outdoor campaign, but he will be a figure to watch when he competes.
The squad will also be helped by a strong freshman presence in middle-distance events, including Michael Palmisano, Pennsylvania state champion in the 1,600m, Nathan Mathabane, Oregon state champion in the 1,500m and 3,000m, and Peter Callahan, Illinois state champion in the 800m and 1,600m.
Though the squad will be boosted by the influx of freshman talent, it will still rely on last year’s strong core which propelled the team to second place at the Heptagonal Championships in Philadelphia.
In sprints, the team returns multiple standout performers from last year, including 400m Ivy League champion sophomore Austin Hollimon and 500m Ivy League champion junior Mike Eddy.
“We’ve been training for a while, three and a half months now, so we’re ready to go,” Hollimon said. “We’ve been spending more time in the weight room so we can be as strong as national powerhouses like LSU and Arkansas. We’ve put the work in, and now it’s time to see the dividends.”
The distance crew, composed mostly of the cross-country squad, will return sophomores Brian Leung, who was First-Team All-Ivy in cross country this year, and Donn Cabral, who qualified for last year’s NCAA Indoor Regionals.
The throwers will rely on the leadership of senior Eric Plummer, who has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Regionals in shot put for the past three seasons.
Sophomore Dave Slovenski, Princeton and Ivy League record holder for the pole vault, also returns. “I’d like to vault a lot higher this year and hopefully make it to nationals,” Slovenski said in an e-mail. “One of my big goals this season is consistency. Last year I had some really frustrating no-heights, so I’d like to get back to vaulting high week after week and be able to place well in the post season.”
The team’s biggest meets, Samara said, will be the Collegiate Duels in New York City in January, the Penn State meet in February and Heps in Hanover, N. H., also in February.
But Heptagonals will be the most important for the team this year, after the Tigers lost last year’s meet to Cornell by a narrow margin.
“Our biggest meet is the Heptagonal Championships at Dartmouth,” Slovenski said. “The stands are packed, and the track is lined with cheering spectators, making an incredible atmosphere for competing.”
“Last year, even though we finished second, we just didn’t have the depth,” Samara said. “It’s difficult to have Cornell’s depth, but it’s a two-team race. We’re head and shoulders above the rest of the league.”
On the women’s side, head coach Peter Farrell said his squad is “terrifically lined up and has its bases covered in all 18 events.”
Like the men’s team, the women’s team had a strong recruiting class, bringing in an experienced group of high school runners, including sprinters Erin Guty, Abidemi Adenikinju and Joie Hand, and distance runners Greta Feldman, Abby Hewitt and Abby Levene.
“Our team has so many amazing athletes that it really inspires and pushes me as a freshman to perform to the best of my ability,” Guty said in an e-mail. “Practices here seem at times very rigorous, but it’s easy to push yourself because you know you need the hard base-work in order to perform well in season.”
Farrell says the squad will “integrate the cross country team into the middle-distance squad” and expects the team to perform well in throws, behind leadership from junior Thanithia Billings, junior Emma Ruggiero and sophomore Alyssa Pehmoeller.
The team will also be boosted by the return of sophomore Eileen Moran, “one of the top sprinters in the league,” Farrell added.
“I’ve been running since September and doing short sprints and 400m-based workouts,” Moran said. “I’m looking to improve on last year’s time and just want to score points for the team.”
Like the men’s team, the women will be looking for revenge at Heps after finishing second behind Cornell last year as well. “Everyone gets pumped up for Heps,” Moran said. “Our team goal is to win both indoor and outdoor meet so it’s a meet everyone looks forward to.”
Both teams will begin their seasons this Friday at the New Years Invitational at Jadwin Gymnasium. “We use this opening meet to gauge where we are heading out of the fall and into the winter,” Farrell noted.
While most will be using this meet as a tune up, Hollimon will be looking to make some waves in his first race of the season. “I’m looking to set the school record in the 300,” he said. “I already got it in practice, but I’m hoping to go in the record books on Friday.”
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