This past weekend, the Princeton indoor men’s track and field team went to the Armory complex in New York City hoping to dominate, and dominate they did. Winning their 11th straight Ivy League Indoor Heptathlon Championship (Heps), the Tigers have secured the longest indoor winning streak in Princeton history.
With 6 individual titles, scoring athletes in 16 of 20 events, and 5 NCAA qualifiers, the Tigers were able to show the depth of the program that will lead them into the outdoor season. With a score of 187, the Orange and Black beat out the University of Pennsylvania by 51 points.
The star of the weekend, senior hurdler and jumper Greg Foster, was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer. Setting two Ivy League Records and securing two individual titles in long jump and 60m hurdles, Foster individually scored 20 points for the team.
With multiple events to manage, Foster had to maintain energy and composure to help his team to a league title. “I focused on each event on its own,” Foster told The Daily Princetonian. Competing on both Saturday and Sunday, Foster emphasized not “worrying about what [he had] to do the next day.”
Starting off with Saturday’s field events, Foster jumped a 8.24m on his third attempt out of five, setting a meet and Ivy League record, winning his fourth straight long-jump title, and earning him a NCAA #2 jump.
Also on Saturday, the Tigers secured second, third, fourth, and sixth place in the 3000m with sophomore Jacob Nenow, junior Brian Boler, junior Sebastian Martinez, and sophomore Avery Keith, collectively earning 19 points for the Orange and Black to set the tone for the distance team.
For many athletes, Saturday consisted mainly of prelims, where Tigers raced to secure their spots in Sunday’s final races. Senior Joe Licata started off the field events throwing a 19.71m on his last attempt, his second personal best of the meet. This throw also earned him the Ivy League title, defending his 2025 win. Senior Casey Helm also scored for the Tigers, throwing 17.89m.
Moving onto Sunday’s running events, the day began for the Tigers with an electric mile race. Senior Connor McCormick crossed the finish line at 4:01.34, less than a second behind the second place runner. Senior Myles Hogan followed closely behind, with a time of 4:03.46, combining to 14 points for the Orange and Black.
Setting another personal best, Ivy League, and meet record, Foster raced in the 60m hurdlers. Finishing with a time of 7.69, Foster led a pack of scoring Tigers with senior Easton Tan and sophomore Yuki Hojo following in third and sixth place.
Next on the lineup was the 400m race, with all three Tigers scoring points for the team title. Senior Joey Gant secured bronze with a season best time of 46.87 followed by juniors Kavon Miller and Xavier Donaldson in fifth and sixth.
In another electric race of the day, sophomore Jonathan York ran 1:01.16, earning a new Ivy League Record and title. “This was the best race of my life,” York told the ‘Prince.’ Coming off of the final curve in second, York found a last kick for a photo finish win against Penn’s Ryan Matulonis. “For me, track is about finding your best self and I found him on the day.”
Coming into the race, York discussed a variety of race plans and tactics. “The night before the race we had a sprint meeting and I had three coaches and my teammates all feeding me input and I was thinking through every situation all night.” However, on the day of the race, after a discussion with Head Coach Jason Vigilante, York described how “going into the race my only plan was to run my best.”
After months of off-season training and base building, the Tigers had the chance to leave it all out on the track. “This title is a culmination of all of [their] efforts,” Vigilante told the ‘Prince.’ “I am so proud of the team and what they were able to accomplish out there this weekend.”
In the 60m sprint, sophomore Jadon Spain ran a 6.69 to secure gold, with sophomore Charles Sexton getting bronze and earning a total 16 points for the team. To conclude the sprinting events, Gant secured second place in the 200m with a time of 21.33, and junior Collin Boler ran 1:49.90 in the 800m for the silver as well.
The track was on fire for the 5000m, with three runners breaking the previous meet record, two of them from Princeton. Junior Brian Boler ran 13:40.75, a personal best, for second place, followed closely by sophomore Jacob Nenow in third with a time of 13:42.79. Senior Jackson Shorten also scored for the Tigers in fifth place, with a personal record of 13:49.83.
On the relay side, Princeton took silver in the DMR and 4x400. Already with a national qualifier, the 4x400 squad seemed to step on the brakes, conserving energy for a longer post-season.
“The competition brought the best out of us this weekend,” Vigilante concluded.
Four Tigers punched their ticket to nationals: Myles Hogan in the 5000m, Connor McCormick in the mile, Greg Foster in the long jump, and Joe Licata in the shot put. Alongside the nationally qualifying 4x400 relay, the team looks ahead to NCAA championships in Fayetteville, Ark. on March 13 and 14 to show their athleticism on a national stage.
Cadigan Perriello is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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