Track & Field: Men look to continue impressive season with win at indoor Heps

Though the NCAA championships are not until June, this weekend’s Heptagonal Championships in Hanover, N.H., are still a major occasion during the track and field season. Here, conference rivalries are put to the test in the indoor meet that will determine the Ivy League champions.

As the culminating event of the indoor season, Heps means a lot to both the Ivy League and its athletes.

“This weekend is Heps, when 160 days of hard work — training through snow, during vacation, on weekends and through sickness — all comes to fruition,” sophomore sprinter Austin Hollimon said. “This is our time to assert our dominance among the Ivy League, and our team is ready.”

The team’s optimism is not undeserved. The Princeton men have claimed victories in every meet they have entered together as a team. At the end of last month, the Tigers beat Cornell — their biggest competitor for the Heps title — by 16.5 points to win the New York Road Runners Saturday Night at the Armory meet. A week later, Princeton placed first at Penn State’s Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, beating the host by 28 points.

Still, a victory this weekend is no guarantee. Based on performance rankings, Cornell is projected to win. The meet is shaping up to be a close faceoff between the Tigers and the Big Red.

“The Tigers will need strong performances from the mid-distance crew if we want to win,” Hollimon said.

Hollimon will certainly be an athlete to watch this weekend. During his consistently strong sophomore season, Hollimon has provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships. The sprinter is also the fastest 400m runner in the Ivy League, boasting a time more than a second ahead of his closest conference competition.

Junior sprinter Mike Eddy and freshman sprinter Russell Dinkins are both slated for success this weekend in the 500m run. Dinkins’ time is currently the fastest in the nation among freshmen. Freshmen mid-distance runners Peter Callahan and Nathan Mathabane are also strong contenders in their events.

Hollimon, Eddy, Dinkins and sophomore sprinter Ricky Kearney are hoping to qualify for nationals and break the Princeton record this weekend in the 4x400m relay.

The women’s team will be looking at a competitive meet as well, but hopes are high.

“We’re coming off a very big and very spirited win over Harvard and Yale two weeks ago,” head coach Peter Farrell said. “This momentum should carry the team through the two days at Dartmouth.”

The Tigers’ biggest competition this weekend will be Columbia and Cornell, the 2009 indoor champion. Columbia, who was not a threat to Princeton in last year’s meet, is returning with a strong freshman class. Though less threatening, Harvard and Brown will also need to be watched.

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Farrell said he was optimistic for this weekend, noting that Princeton is well within winning range of most of the events at the meet.

“We have real strong entrants in the pole vault, throws, sprints and distance events,” Farrell explained in an e-mail.

Princeton’s team includes returning talents in addition to a strong freshman roster. Freshman pole vaulter Tory Worthen beat out 19 other competitors to win the Sykes-Sabock Challenge and will definitely be a contender in the weekend’s competitions. Junior distance runner Ashley Higginson, who reached the NCAA provisional qualifying mark at the New York Road Runners meet, will also be a strong competitor.

In the weight throw, fans should keep an eye on junior Emma Ruggiero, who recently broke the school record.