After a successful home opener before winter break, the men’s and women’s track and field teams return to action today and Saturday. The women will compete at home in Jadwin Gymnasium at the Princeton Quad Meet against Rutgers, St. Joseph’s and St. John’s. The men will travel to Annapolis, Md., for a dual meet against Navy.
Both teams have already broken records this season. Senior Thanithia Billings set a new Princeton record of more than 63 feet in the weight throw, beating the old record by six feet. On the men’s side, junior Austin Hollimon has also enjoyed success early in the season, besting his own record in the 300m dash by 0.20 seconds with a time of 33.68 seconds.
Other Tigers also opened their season at the New Year’s Invitational on Dec. 12 with solid results. Freshman Tom Hopkins opened his collegiate season with a 33.82-second finish in the 300m dash to place second behind Hollimon. Junior Kashif Smith took fifth place in the same event with a time of 35.75 seconds and won the 60m dash in 6.91 seconds.
“It’s always great to finally reap the benefits of all the hard work we put in during the summer and fall training seasons,” Smith said. “I especially liked seeing how the freshmen do. At the first meet they did not disappoint.”
The women were equally satisfied with how their season started. Along with Billings, other Tigers also grabbed victories. Junior sprinter Eileen Moran was the top finisher in the 60m and 300m dashes, with times of 7.72 seconds and 40.36 seconds, respectively. The Tigers also swept the top four spots in the 1,000m race, with freshman Molly Higgins taking first place. The lone Princetonian running the mile was sophomore Greta Feldman, who won the race in a time of 5 minutes, 8.09 seconds — 10 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be looking forward to improving upon their successes at the home opener when they take to the track today and Saturday.
“The team was away from the track and the facilities for the most part during the winter break, so this meet is our chance to really get the ball rolling on our busy winter schedule,” Feldman said. “The meet on Friday may be smaller than some of the invitationals we will see later in the season, but the fact that it is a scored meet gives it a special competitive edge and team aspect that will ultimately help us down the road in meets like H-Y-P and Heps.”
Last year, both teams finished first at the indoor track and field Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. It was the first time both teams claimed simultaneous titles since the 1997-98 season. The Tigers are eager to sustain their victories this season, one meet at a time.
“We finished our indoor season undefeated last year, and we would like to go out and get another win in this dual meet,” Smith said. “As our coaches or anyone else on the team will tell you, coming together and performing well as a team is probably one of the most difficult challenges we will face. We already know that we have the talent individually, but it will take more than that to defend our current title and continue the championship success that our cross country team has had.”
The meet will begin at 5 p.m. today with the women’s weight throw.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Thanithia Billings broke the Princeton weight throw record by six inches. Billings broke the record by six feet.
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