Track & Field: Men take five events at home invitational

It was a successful weekend for the men’s track and field team, which hosted 25 teams at the 10th annual Larry Ellis Invitational at Weaver Track on Friday and Saturday. Five Tigers won their events in the home meet. Meanwhile, the women’s team sent athletes to California and Florida where they also had positive results.

Sophomore Donn Cabral got the meet off to a strong start for the Princeton men on Friday by winning the 5,000m run with a time of 13 minutes, 58.24 seconds, more than five seconds quicker than second-place finisher Kyle Merber of Columbia and fast enough to be the 18th-best time in the nation this season.

Junior Mike Eddy was the next Tiger to win his event on Saturday, finishing the 400m race in 47.76 seconds, just quick enough to edge out Marvin Lewis of Shore Athletic Club, who finished in 47.81 seconds.

A few hours later, sophomore Austin Hollimon sprinted to a first-place finish in the 200m dash in 21.46 seconds, beating Lewis’s 21.66 seconds. This was Hollimon’s first time running the 200m this season.

Princeton also experienced success in the field. Freshman Conor McCullough had a monster showing in the hammer throw, launching the 6-kilogram hammer 74.29 meters. Thomas Freeman of New York Athletic Club came in second with a throw of 69.10 meters, while junior Craig Pearce took third with a mark of 60.64 meters.

Senior Justin Frick was another winner on Saturday, taking first in the high jump by clearing 2.12 meters.

Princeton’s success did not end there, however, as junior George Abyad narrowly placed second in the discus throw behind Rhode Island’s Derek Peterson. Abyad threw 51.26 meters while Peterson was able to reach 52.11 meters.

Abyad also placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 15.86 meters. Senior Eric Plummer was the top Tiger in the event, taking second with a mark of 16.58 meters.

The women’s track and field team sent athletes to both California and Florida this weekend to compete in the Mt. Sac Relays and the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, respectively. In California, two Princeton athletes won their events while another placed second. In Florida, two Tigers finished third while another finished seventh.

At the Mt. Sac Relays, junior Sarah Cummings had a dominating performance in the 10,000m event with a time of 33:55.91. Cummings finished two seconds ahead of the second-place finisher and currently has the 13th-best time in the nation this season.

The Tigers also brought home both first and second place from California in the 5,000m race. Sophomore Alex Banfich won the event with a time of 16:00.40, while junior Ashley Higginson followed close behind with a time of 16:02.32. Banfich currently has the fourth-best time nationally, while Higginson has the fifth-best time.

At the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, junior Emma Ruggiero earned third in the hammer throw with a distance of 55.13 meters. Freshman Tory Worthen finished third in the pole vault by clearing 3.97 meters, and junior Thanithia Billings placed seventh in the shot put with a 15.05-meter toss. Additionally, sophomore Eileen Moran finished 11th in the 100m dash and 12th in the 200m dash.