Senior co-captain Sarah Cummings finished first in 17 minutes, 14.20 seconds, well ahead of her nearest competition.
Junior Alex Banfich crossed the finish line third, followed by senior co-captain Ashley Higginson. Sophomores Alexis Mikaelian and Abby Levene took sixth and eighth, respectively.
Strong performances throughout the roster proved the No. 9 Tigers’ depth at the meet. Overall, half of the weekend’s top 20 runners ran for Princeton.
The HYP meet may come early in the cross country season, but it is still an important benchmark for runners eyeing the postseason.
“[The HYP meet] is a good chance for the team to get back into racing mode on a smaller stage, before the larger and more competitive meets later in the season,” Cummings explained in an e-mail. “The meet is unique in that it is our only tri-meet of the season, and one of the oldest continuously run meets in the history of women’s cross country.”
Although historically significant, the HYP meet comes before the season’s national qualification window.
“Only after October 1 can teams start gaining at-large points within the NCAA,” Banfich noted. “However, it’s a very historical meet and means something to us sentimentally more than anything. To be able to keep the old rivalry alive — and come out on top — is a very special thing.”
The rivalry, and the meet itself, is indeed old. Princeton, Harvard and Yale held their first cross country tri-meet in 1922.
Women’s cross country teams followed suit, beginning this half of the tradition in 1976.
Princeton’s men’s team has been absent from the HYP meet since 1998; however, the women’s team still competes for the coveted Cheever Memorial Trophy.
“The weekend’s finest moment to me was looking behind me and seeing our girls fight it out next to crimson and navy uniforms,” Banfich said.
Higginson agreed that the HYP meet is an important tradition for her team.
“It means a lot and helps us run with pride,” Higginson said. “It’s exciting that we have a young team that’s getting some of these first experiences to help us get ready for bigger meets.”
The racers will likely prove a formidable force come the October qualification season. Although upperclassmen dominated the weekend’s top five places, younger runners populated many of the top 20 spots.
“Alexis Mikaelian and Abby Levene both had huge improvements compared to the last meet we ran,” Banfich noted.
Freshman Theresa Devine finished in 11th place, followed by fellow freshman Marisa Cummings in 12th.
Freshman Katie Skinner placed 15th, while sophomores Greta Feldman and Laura Zumbach took 17th and 18th, respectively.
Zumbach and Levene are also staff writers for The Daily Princetonian.
The HYP meet was the last competition of the season that has no bearing on national rankings.
This weekend will also be runners’ last chance to qualify for the pre-nationals meet on Oct. 16 in Terre Haute, Ind.
The qualification season will begin Friday with the Notre Dame and Paul Short invitational meets.
Those runners that are not sent to South Bend, Ind., will compete in the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.
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