Tigers compete at Texas Invitational, prepare to host Larry Ellis Invitational

The Princeton Track and Field teams traveled to Austin, Texas this past weekend to compete at the Texas Invitational — a two-day event held April 14 and 15. The Tigers went head-to-head against some of the best teams in the nation, namely top-25 teams Texas, Kentucky, and Auburn. Despite not having full teams, the men still placed sixth, and the women finished tenth in the warm Texas weather.

On the men’s side, junior William Paulson won the 1500m by nearly four seconds with a time of 3:46.39. Junior Josh Ingalls followed with a win in the 800m at 1:50.26, while junior Garrett O’Toole placed eighth at 1:52.88. Senior Ray Mennin finished sixth in the 400m at 48.00 seconds. Freshman Joey Daniels took sixth in the 110m hurdles in 14.04 seconds. The time would have broken the school record, but unfortunately wasn’t wind legal. In the 400m hurdles, freshman Gab Montefalcone took fifth at 53.16 seconds, followed by junior Spencer Long who placed sixth at 53.46 seconds and senior captain Greg Leeper, who took eighth at 53.66 seconds.

Transitioning to the field events, senior Jared Bell nabbed fifth place in the discus throw with a mark of 51.19m (167-11 ft). Junior Mitchel Charles placed eight in the shot put with a throw of 16.21m (53-02.25 ft). Senior captain Xavier Bledsoe took sixth in the high jump with a clearance of 2.07m (6-9.5 ft). Finally, the duo of junior August Kiles and senior Ben Gaylord took fifth and eight respectively. Kiles cleared 5.21m (17-1 ft), and Gaylord cleared 5.06m (16-7.25 ft).

On the women’s side, a trio of Tigers competed well in the 100m hurdles. Sophomore Ellie Randolph clocked in at 13.96 seconds. Senior captain Allison Harris finished at 14.14 seconds. Junior Maia Craver finished at 14.27 seconds. The times would have been Princeton top-10 marks but were not wind legal. Randolph and Harris already rank fourth and sixth respectively in the Princeton record books. Senior captain Elisa Steele finished fifth in the 400m with a personal record of 55.00 seconds. Her time ranks fifth in program history. Freshman Devon Block-Funkhouser placed fourth in the 400m hurdles at 1:02.88. Harris finished seventh in the pole vault, clearing 3.93m (12-10.75).

After some quality competition these past weeks, the Tigers will gear up for their premier home meet, the Larry Ellis Invitational, held April 21 and 22, only two weeks away from the HEPS Championships. The meet attracts high quality competitors, so fast times and great marks are on the horizon. At this point in the season, the teams will begin to lighten their training and rest up for the important upcoming meets. Prior to Larry Ellis, Princeton will hold a small, multi-event meet for decathletes and heptathletes.