Men aim for four-peat at Heps; women look for first championship in three years

Women look for first outdoor Heps title since 2011

The women’s track and field team will look to claim the top spot at the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championships for the first time in three years, as the Tigers travel to Yale for the two-day meet. Princeton boasts a number of competitors who will look to do damage both at Cuyler Field and Dwyer Track on Saturday and Sunday.

Senior Charquia Wright and junior Joanna Anyanwu will give the Tigers their best chance of scoring in sprints, as both upperclassmen have run personal bests this season in the 100 and 200. Sophomore Meghan McMullin’s 59.52 in the 400 hurdles currently places her at fifth-best in the Ivy League. McMullin looks to have an excellent chance at scoring this weekend, as her other four times in the 400 hurdles this spring have all been better than the seventh-best mark in the league.

Junior Kim Mackay will lead the Tigers in mid-distance competition, as her 800 time of 2:11.20 currently places her in the top eight in the Ivy League. Freshman Lizzie Bird will look to score in her first outdoor Heps, as her season mark of 4:27.42 in the 1500 has her at sixth-best amongst all Ancient Eight competitors on the season.

Freshman Megan Curham will look for gold in her first outdoor Heps as well, as she earned silver in both the 3K and 5K at indoor Heps during the winter. Her 3K time of 9:20.74 is currently second-best in the league. In addition, all eyes will look to the track to see if the Tigers’ 4x800 relay can earn gold for the fourth consecutive year, as Princeton has a league-leading time of 8:45.40 from the Penn Relays.

After Tory Worthen ’13 won her eighth Heps title in the pole vault last spring, Princeton will look to senior Samantha Anderson and freshman Allison Harris to keep Princeton’s streak of pole vault titles alive. Anderson won the event at indoor Heps, while Harris currently has the league’s best mark of 3.95 meters.

Sophomore Julia Ratcliffe does not have to do much more than show up in order to gain her second consecutive hammer throw title. The nation’s leader in the event has an advantage of 43 feet over the rest of the field and has won every hammer throw event she has been in this year.

Men seek fourth consecutive Heps title

The men’s track and field team will look for a four-peat at Outdoor Heps with a win this weekend and seems to have enough firepower to do it. In sprints, sophomore John Hill will have the Tigers’ best chance at a title in the 100, as his mark of 10.67 from last weekend is the top time in the league. Senior Tom Hopkins will aim for a win in the 200, as his season best of 21.13 is second best in the Ivy League. Junior Daniel McCord’s 200 time of 21.72 is third best in the league. Hopkins and McCord will also look to score in the 400, as Hopkins holds the best time in the league this season of 46.69.

In mid-distance, junior Bradley Paternostro represents the Tigers’ best chance of scoring in the 800, coming off a 1:50.40 finish at last weekend’s meet and aNo. 4 finish in last year’s outdoor Heps. Freshman William Paulson will look for an Ivy title in the 1500, as he currently has the league’s third-fastest time this spring. Senior Michael Williams could score with either Paternostro or Paulson as well, having put up strong past performances in both events.

Similar to last year, the Tigers will look for major points in distance. The senior trio of Alejandro Arroyo Yamin, Chris Bendtsen and Tyler Udland holds three of the top four times in the league in the 10K. The three also holds three of the top seven times in the league in the 5K. Junior Eddie Owens and senior George Galasso lead Princeton in the steeplechase, as they currently hold the third and seventh-fastest times in the league, respectively.

Owens is an associate sports editor for The Daily Princetonian.

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The Tigers will also look to do serious damage in jumps, as Hopkins, sophomore Jake Scinto and junior Stephen Soerens hold three of the league’s top four marks in the long jump. Senior Damon McLean favors well for gold this weekend as well, as the two-time reigning champion in the triple jump also holds the best jump in the league in 2014. Senior Omar Jarrett will be well set to score in the high hump, as he currently holds the fifth-best mark in the league and has scored in the event at four previous Heps, combining indoor and outdoor. Junior Adam Bragg has the second-best mark in the league in the pole vault, but will try to take gold for the second time in 2014 after winning the event indoors.

Junior Scott Rushton will try to use the momentum of last week’s PR to score in the shot put, as his mark of 17.64 is currently in the league’s top five marks. Senior Brad Pelisek has the fourth-best throw in the javelin but finished third in the event last spring. After finishing second in last year’s decathlon, Soerens will seek his firstdecathlon title, as he currently has the second-best score in the league. Sophomore Bryan Oslin will also hope to score in the decathlon, as he has scored twice indoors and currently has the seventh-best score in the league.

Competition begins on Saturday at 11 a.m. in New Haven, Conn.