On Saturday, February 14th, the women’s track and field team traveled up to Boston for the Boston University Valentine Invitational. In the second heat of the 5000m race, junior Anna McNatt raced a time of 15:56.79, besting the previous Princeton record of 16:01.51 from 2015. However, minutes later in the third heat, sophomore Meg Madison broke that same record, running 15:54.20.
The Tigers broke two other records during the same meet. A team of first-year runners Laila Payne, Elizabeth Yeboah-Kodie, and Delia Gregory along with senior runner Maisha Atkinson demolished the Princeton record in the 4x400 relay. Atkinson also added to the day’s accomplishments by breaking the 200m record.
These outstanding performances only begin to show the depth of Princeton’s current program. With a win at the Ivy League Championship this coming weekend, the team would complete its second consecutive and fourth all-time Triple Crown, winning cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field Ivy Championships.
While the indoor season is frequently riddled with sickness and tough running conditions, both McNatt and Madison were able to capitalize on cross country training and a mental toughness to race two program records within minutes of each other.
“Indoor in general can be a bit of a grind,” McNatt told The Daily Princetonian.
The BU Valentine meet is uniquely energetic, producing fast times and a high atmosphere. With multiple NCAA records and top-times broken, the meet allowed the Tigers to thrive. With the entire team staying from Thursday to Sunday, Princeton fed off both their teammates’ energy and encouragement, and other athletes’ record-breaking performances.
“Sitting there watching NCAA records being broken, that’s always gonna hype you up,” McNatt noted.
Madison, originally from the Boston area, had a uniquely special experience going back home to race.
“I love racing at BU. I raced there a ton in high school,” Madison told the ‘Prince.’ “It was fun to be back there, and obviously always great to get to sleep in my own bed at home and see my parents.”
On the other hand, McNatt also discussed the exciting environment of an entire weekend away with the team.
“It was nice to have a real travel, cause we’ve been doing meets at Penn and not really travelling at all,” McNatt said.
While this past weekend produced the record-breaking times, the 5000m races remain the culmination of cross country and even summer training.
“We really do the same thing,” Madison said when asked about any particularly difficult workouts. “We run k-repeats with either two hundreds or hills at the end, at least once a week.”
“We just did it on Tuesday,” she continued. “So that is a staple for us.”
“Our training stays pretty much the same,” McNatt added, referring to the difference between cross country and track season.
Despite their outstanding performances, neither of the runners came into the meet with the Princeton record on their mind.
“There was no time goal explicitly stated by Coach Hunt,” McNatt told the ‘Prince.’ “I think he kind of stays away from that in general.”
Madison discussed that BU is set up for success in terms of running fast times. Whether it was the newly installed pacing lights at most indoor tracks or the intensely close seed times of those in each heat, the meet created a successful racing environment.
“I think BU does such an excellent job running these meets, and everyone and every heat is within a few seconds of each other,” Madison said. “So they really set you up for success, where you’re going to have people to chase and run with and sort of drag you through it to a quick time.”
A 5000m on the 200-meter indoor track takes 25 laps, requiring intense mental toughness to remain calm and in the race. McNatt said her race strategy was to stay composed and relaxed.
“I guess when I’m racing, I just try to channel knowing that we have run the exact same pace we do in practice,” she told the ‘Prince.’
“I think in a meet like that, you really don’t have to do much of the work because you’re not out there running alone,” Madison said. “As much as you can just stay and relax and almost zone out, the better it will go. So my strategy is just to sit in behind the girls I’m competing with and get through as many laps as I can, and then, once you get into the later end of the race, it becomes a little bit more competitive.”
Looking ahead, McNatt and Madison both confirmed the team's desire to win the Ivy Heptathlon this weekend.
“It would be awesome if the team won indoor Heps,” Madison said. “I’d say that’s the main goal for us right now. And then individually, obviously, just compete to the best of my ability in whatever race I’m in.”
When asked about her goals for the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship, McNatt said she was aiming to place high and score points for her team.
“I know we’re trying to go for a point-scoring record as a team, so it’s exciting to contribute as much as I can,” she said.
Both runners also noted an excitement for the outdoor season, specifically with two home meets in the regular season on April 4th and May 1st.
Looking to take home a men’s and women’s victory, the Tigers will attend the Ivy League Championships at the Armory Track and Field Center in New York City on Saturday, February 28th and Sunday, March 1st.
Cadigan Perriello is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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