Track & Field: Hollimon sets school record in 300

After a six-month hiatus, the men’s and women’s track and field teams were finally back on the track, competing in the New Years’ Invitational on Friday night at Jadwin Gymnasium. It was a solid performance from both teams, who won 16 combined events, and the victory should encourage the Tigers and the coaching staffs as they head into winter break.

“It’s great to see the younger guys come out and do something, and the older guys have been training really well,” men’s head coach Fred Samara said. “So far I’m happy with the results.”

Women’s head coach Pete Farrell was equally complimentary of his team.

“This is the best opening we’ve ever had,” he said. “I’ve been here in the past on December 11 saying to myself, ‘What are we going to do this year?’ Across the board, we saw people step up and do some impressive things.”

On the men’s side, the standout performer of the evening was sprinter Austin Hollimon. The sophomore, who said in Thursday’s season preview that he was “looking to go into the record books on Friday,” cruised to the Princeton record in the 300m, completing the race in 33.88 seconds. The previous record was 34.41, set by Shafiq Kashmiri ’09 in 2007.

“It was exciting for the first meet of the season to come out and set a record like that,” Hollimon said. “I’m looking forward to a better year, and I want to keep it up.”

“We kind of expected [the record], but anytime you get [one], it’s great,” Samara said.

Elsewhere in the sprint events, junior Mike Eddy outdueled Toddrick Darden of Rutgers to win the 600m in one minute, 21.4 seconds, and the 4x400m team defeated the Rutgers “A” team by three seconds to win in 3:18.96.

In the distance events, freshman Michael Palmisano dominated the 1,000m in 2:33.93 while junior Reagan Lynch took the mile in 4:18.64.

“I’m pretty inexperienced at the 1k and college running, so the first two laps I just sat on the leader and then just picked it up when I felt the pace lag a bit,” Palmisano said. “I was really nervous, but it was a lot of fun.”

Lynch said he was pleased with his result.

“It went really well for the first meet of the season,” he said. “This is actually as fast as I’ve run, so I’m looking forward to being able to contribute more to the team this year.”

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Off the track, senior Eric Plummer took the shot put, throwing 18.31 meters and reaching NCAA provisional standards in the process. Sophomore Dave Slovenski won the pole vault, clearing 4.6 meters, while senior Ian Fox finished first in the high jump, reaching 2.1 meters.

“It was great to see Ian out there again after being out all outdoor season with a fracture in his back,” Samara said.

Sophomore Isaac Serwanga edged out junior Dion Lehman by .01m to take the long jump before also winning the triple jump. Samara reserved special praise for Serwanga, who was also plays football, along with the other multi-sport athletes on his roster.

“One thing I strongly believe in is doing more than one sport,” Samara said. “It’s very helpful to their athleticism and speed.”

The women’s team also had a record-breaking performance of its own from junior Emma Ruggiero, who shattered the school indoor record in the weight throw, throwing 56 feet, five inches. The previous record, 53’5”, was set by junior Thanithia Billings last season.

“That’s incredible for the first meet,” Farrell commented.

Aside from Ruggiero’s performance, the team was led by its young, talented sprint squad, which swept the places in the 60m dash preliminaries and finals in addition to claiming the 300m. “We’ve got great sprint power with [freshman] Abby Adenikinju, [freshman] Erin Guty and [sophomore] Eileen Moran,” Farrell said.

In both 60m races, Adenikinju took first, followed by Guty and Moran. Adenikinju, who won in 7.74, shook off pre-race jitters to produce a special performance.

“I was really, really nervous and I was surprised to be the fastest in the seeded heat going into the finals,” she said. “It made me more nervous, but I was really happy with the result.”

In the 300m, Moran won in 40.62, narrowly beating senior Nicole McMullen of St. Joseph’s by .01 seconds.

Elsewhere on the track, junior Brooke Russell won the mile in 5:09.58, while freshman Greta Feldman took the 1,000m in 3:00.06.

Off the track, junior Tiffany Liu won the triple jump, reaching 5.57 meters, while freshman Tory Worthen recorded a win in the pole vault, clearing 3.81 meters.

It was an impressive start to the season, Farrell explained.

“I’m very happy with how the program is heading into the holidays,” he said. “They know the workout over the break, and then it’s time to come back and get ready for the January season.”

Both teams will return to action the second week of January. The men will head down to Annapolis, Md., to the Navy Invitational, while the women will make the short trip to New York to compete in the Metro Coaches Invitational.