Ruggiero sets school record in weight throw as Harvard and Yale easily depatched

Despite the fierce rivalry between Harvard, Yale and Princeton, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams walked away from Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday with another victory on their records. The Princeton men totaled 105 points, easily outpacing Harvard’s 48 and Yale’s 27, while the women topped their meet with 90.5 points, followed by Harvard’s 47.5 and Yale’s 21.

On the men’s side, Princeton started its lead early with the field events. Junior Craig Pearce won the weight throw with an impressive toss of 19.22 meters, almost two meters over the rest of the field. The Tigers went one-two in the shot put, with seniors Eric Plummer and Joel Karacozoff throwing 17.27 meters and 16.67 meters, respectively. Senior Justin Frick won the high jump, reaching 2.09 meters.

Sophomore David Slovenski got the crowd into his performance en route to victory in pole vault, clearing 5.05 meters, ahead of senior Chad Faulkner’s second-place 4.95.

“Each win just adds to our excitement for the next meet,” Slovenski said. “Our momentum keeps on building.”

The track events proved an opportunity for the Tigers to dominate, winning nine of the 11 events. In the mile, freshman Peter Callahan came from behind the pack in the final lap, surging to a win in 4 minutes, 12.60 seconds while sophomore Brian Leung battled to a second-place finish in 4:16.20.

The Tigers avenged a loss in the 1000m with a one-two-three finish in the 200m. Sophomore Adam Hyndman led the way in 23.55 seconds.

The women also began with a strong showing in the field, winning four of the six events. Freshman pole vaulter Tory Worthen placed first, clearing 4.00 meters to reach the NCAA provisional cut. Thanithia Billings won the shot put with 14.75 meters, while fellow junior Emma Ruggiero took the weight throw with 17.63 meters. Freshman Erin Guty rounded out the field wins, reaching 5.72 meters in the long jump.

Sophomore Danielle Glaeser won the 400m in a time of 57.04 seconds. Fellow sophomore Eileen Moran was a double winner, topping the field in both the 60m and 200m.

Senior Reilly Kiernan and sophomore Alex Banfich placed one-two in the 3,000m and earned NCAA provisional times of 9:27.20 and 9:27.36, respectively.

“We were really flat at this meet last year,” Kiernan said, referring to Princeton’s 2009 loss to Harvard. “We had good energy this year; we weren’t going to let that happen again.” Kiernan is also a former associate news editor for The Daily Princetonian.

In the distance events, junior Ashley Higginson and Banifich went two-three in the mile, while Greta Feldman placed second in the 800m. The team of freshman Joie Hand, Glaeser, freshman Melissa Zajdel and Moran won the 4x400m in 3:51.50, and Feldman, freshman Alexis Mikaelian, sophomore Michelle Yousefian and Higginson won the 4x800m in 9:03.46.

Women’s track head coach Peter Farrell said he was proud of the way his team performed.

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“We had great races across the board,” he said. “That rarely happens in a track meet.” Between now and Heptagonal Championships, Farrell believes his team needs simply to maintain focus, stay healthy and avoid injury to continue its successful season.

“This definitely builds momentum going into [Heptagonals],” Kiernan said. “We’re going in with confidence instead of seeking redemption.”