On Saturday, Feb. 14, Princeton’s 4x400 men’s relay team — consisting of sophomore Jonathan York, junior Xavier Donaldson, junior Jackson Clarke, and senior Joey Gant — demolished the standing Ivy League record, Harvard’s 3:05.92 in 2022. Running a blazing 3:03.56 at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., the Tigers made a splash on the national stage, setting the tenth fastest time in the NCAA this season.
The team has spent the past two months of the indoor season on the climb, besting their time from the Penn Elite Invite on Jan. 24 by almost four seconds. The squad also topped their own Princeton record, previously held at 3:07.16 from last year’s Tyson Invite.
Clarke, a typically short-distance sprinter, ran the fastest leg in 45.40, but all of the Tigers were within two seconds of each other. The four runners joined a select few Tigers competing at the Tyson Invitational this year. It proved to be an electric track, with five of the top ten NCAA 4x400 times run in one day. The Tigers came into the meet with a specific agenda — to qualify for nationals — and the Ivy record proved a given after that feat.
“We all warmed up together to build a cohesive mind and get our bodies and mind right to compete,” Donaldson told The Daily Princetonian, as the coaches emphasized “running as a team rather than just individually.”
“We came to the same mentality that you always do: to execute and dominate,” he added.
With the expectations of a national qualifier, the team did not let the intimidation of running against much larger scholarship schools get to them.
“Just because they have a certain name on their jersey doesn’t mean that we couldn’t be in there with them,” Gant said, referring to schools that traditionally boast fast squads. “And I think we proved that this weekend.”
“I feel like that’s something that we want to show the world: that we can do a lot more than just read textbooks,” Donaldson noted.
“We’re scholar-athletes, not just athletes, not just scholars,” Gant continued. “So we just wanted to put up that display. The Ivy record was something we hadn’t really ingrained in our head. If we execute what we wanted to do, which was making nationals, it would happen. That was our mindset going into it.”
The Tyson Invite gave the team a racing opportunity among fast competitors.
“I feel like some days, the track is hot and everyone just runs fast times,” York told the ‘Prince.’ “That day the track was hot, and so I knew we were going to run something fast. This was our first chance getting in a real heat; it was exciting, to say the least.”
This performance started months earlier, with the team’s dedication and training in the off-seasons.
“We get programs starting July, but the actual NCAA season doesn’t start until October,” Gant told the ‘Prince.’ “It was all captains’ practices, but everyone was always there. There was a lot of base stuff. Our coaches really focused on building our base so we can finish up the 400 and build the speed later in the season.”
The team practiced baton handoffs, hills up Washington Road, and building an aerobic base for a long season.
“This helped us get into the right mentality and confidence to get to a four-by-four at the big stage,” Donaldson explained.
When it came to race day, the Tigers continued to emphasize working as a team, not focusing on the individual aspects of their sport. Donaldson remarked that staying as a unit during warm-ups allowed the team to get their minds and bodies right. The indoor track, only 200 meters long, necessitates increased technical and tactical racing.
“You share a lane for at least half of the lap in the four-by-four,” Gant told the ‘Prince.’ “You have to get used to fighting people for the break or getting around the turn. It’s more of just positioning yourself in a spot where you can come off the curve and pass on the straight.”
“I think it’s less about splits, and more about crossing the line in first place or giving your other person the best time possible,” Donaldson said when asked about their specific strategies for racing, including running blind or hearing splits.
“I also feel like that energy in an indoor track is a lot higher,” York told the ‘Prince.’ “Indoors is awesome because everyone’s just packed into one room and when the energy is high, it’s fun in there.”
Coming into the meet with a laser focus on the national qualifying time, the team can now look forward to post-season performances. While getting the Ivy League record itself is an incredible accomplishment, the team consistently emphasized a desire to gain prevalence on a national stage.
“It’s all I care about,” York told the ‘Prince.’ “I just want to win nationals in the four-by-four.”
This lofty goal was reiterated by all four runners. However, the team has not forgotten about their league.
“We’ll take care of winning Heps,” Gant told the ‘Prince,’ referring to the Ivy League Championships, also called the Heptagonal Championships. “Winning that is very important to the team. But I think we’re at the point where we’re looking beyond that.”
The 3:03.56 that Princeton ran this weekend would have earned them the silver medal and put them just two-tenths of a second from gold in last year’s NCAA Championships, making the goal of winning a national title in the 4x400 completely within reason for the Tigers squad.
One thing remains clear: this race — both an Ivy Record and a NCAA top-ten race — reshaped expectations for Princeton’s team. This record change allowed the team and their fans to see themselves as national contenders, not just qualifiers.
The Tigers will look to secure a victory at the Ivy League Championships on Feb. 28 in New York City’s Armory, with the national championship following in mid-March.
Cadigan Perriello is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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