A year that saw the first-ever triple-double in Princeton basketball history also saw the return of the “double-triple” for the track and field program. For the first time in 14 years, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams secured “triple crown” honors — XC, indoor, and outdoor Ivy League titles — with wins at this weekend’s Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Heps) in New Haven, Conn.
The men’s team ended the weekend with a score of 212.5 points to Harvard’s 128 and Penn’s 112. Host Yale finished last with 23 points. The women’s squad also eclipsed the 200-point barrier with 202.5, holding off second-place Harvard, which accrued 178.5 points. This marks the 12th time the men have won the triple crown, including three in the past four years. The women accomplished the feat for the third time ever and the first since 2011.
‘Winning never gets old’: Men continue winning ways
Princeton men’s track and field and cross country have now been the foremost force in the Ivy League for over a decade. The Tigers have taken home 24 out of the last 30 Heps titles across the 10 seasons, including 10 straight indoors. The current crop of seniors has gone 11 for 12, only placing second at outdoor Heps in 2023.
The meet wasn’t all smooth for Princeton, but no hiccups would have been big enough to knock the team off its path to victory. First-year Marcelo Parra eased up at the line in the 3000m steeplechase, costing him the win, but he and his twin brother Franco still scored 14 points in the event. The men’s 4x100m relay team dropped the baton and did not finish the race, but the sprinters made up for it by scoring 18 points in both the 100m and 200m dashes.
All told, just five of the 22 events were won by Tigers, compared to nine of 20 indoors, but Princeton’s depth proved insurmountable for the rest of the Ivy League. This depth is what allowed the Tigers to eke out their fourth-consecutive cross country title over Harvard in the fall, and with the Crimson now missing Olympic distance star Graham Blanks, the gap in the longer events continues to widen. Princeton scored 61 points in the mid-distance and distance races to Harvard’s 42. No other team posted more than 22.
Junior Greg Foster was the star of the show for the Tigers. He has won the long jump at Heps every time he’s contested it, and he retained his crown with a 7.71-meter leap. Foster also ran the 110m hurdles and cemented himself as a double champ, clocking a 13.78-second meet record.
Senior Harrison Witt in the 1500m, junior Casey Helm in the discus throw, and sophomore Jackson Clarke in the 200m also took home individual wins for the Orange and Black.
Witt didn’t stop at 1500m, however. Immediately after his win, he ran halfway around the track to go pump up his teammates. “I kept running after I crossed the line, not as a celebration, but as a way to go high-five and fire up my teammates who were lining the whole track,” Witt told The Daily Princetonian. “I wanted to kickstart our momentum.”
“I can’t express enough gratitude for my teammates. It was very special to win one final championship with my best friends,” he added. “As they would also tell you, winning never gets old.”
Field athletes lead women back to glory
Just like indoors and XC, outdoor Heps was effectively a dual meet against Harvard for the Princeton women, and as in those two previous matchups, the Tigers reigned supreme.
The meet was a true team effort, with the Tigers scoring points in all but three events. Princeton’s jumpers, throwers, and vaulters contributed very strongly to the win, completely dominating their conference competition. Including the heptathlon, Princeton scored 129.5 points in the field events to Harvard’s 42.5.
A Tiger topped the podium in five of the nine field events. Senior Siniru Iheoma dominated the shot put, and juniors Julia Jongejeugd, Georgina Scoot, and Shea Greene all led 1–2 Princeton finishes in the heptathlon, long jump, and javelin throw, respectively. Scoot also won the triple jump, setting meet records in both the long jump at 6.51m and the triple jump at 13.36m, which earned her National Athlete of the Week honors, marking the first time a Princeton student has ever won this distinction outdoors.
Each of these women defended their titles from last year’s Heps, except Scoot, who placed second in last year’s long jump final behind this year’s runner-up, junior Alex Kelly.
While some graduation-induced departures, such as Iheoma’s, are sure to deliver a tough blow to this incredible field core, many of the Tigers field-eventers will be back next year to defend their individual and team titles.
On the track, senior Mena Scatchard had one last bit of Heps heroics in store as her stellar Princeton career nears its close. The Stanford-bound senior easily defended her 1500m crown and produced the meet’s signature moment in the 4x800m relay. Scatchard got the baton in second place, trailing Harvard’s Sophia Gorriaran, the open 800m champion, but she ran down the Crimson standout in the home stretch. Scatchard's split of 2:02.11 stopped the clock at a meet record of 8:27.31, just 0.06 seconds ahead of Harvard’s mark.
“The last 100m of that race was probably the best and most satisfying finish of a race I’ve ever had,” Scatchard said of her winning relay leg.
The Tigers will host one last home meet, the Princeton Elite Invitational, on May 17, and select athletes will then go on to compete at NCAA regionals and nationals.
Luke Stockless is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.
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