Princeton University Athletics
Ferrell Named Athlete of the Meet as Women Place Second at Ivy League Heps
February 29, 2004 | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 29, 2004
ITHACA, N.Y. - In an afternoon that saw high drama in both the men's and women's fields, the Princeton men's team and the Cornell women's squad captured team titles at the 57th Ivy Indoor Heptagonal Championships. The Tigers totaled 159 points to top second-place Cornell (141 points) by 18. The Cornell women tallied 164 to claim their second-straight Heps Indoor crown. Princeton took second with 121 points, and Brown finished third at 69.
Cornell and Princeton battled neck and neck all Sunday afternoon in both the men's and women's fields and neither team honor was decided until the closing events Sunday afternoon.
With only five events remaining the Big Red men held a narrow two-point lead over Princeton at 119-117, but strong finishes in the high jump and the relays helped lead the Tigers to the men's team crown.
The Tiger's relay teams totaled 28 points in the three events to offset the Big Red, who countered with 15 points in the races. "This is very rewarding," said Tigers' men's coach Fred Samara. "After last year, I told my team 'Cornell is the type of team that makes us better, and we make them better.' It came down to the last events and our team showed a lot of heart."
The Tigers' distance medley relay team of Ben Stern, Brian Shields, Alexis Tingan and Tristan Colangelo ran a 10:01.48 to take first and give Princeton a seven-point team lead at 127-120 over the Big Red.
Princeton's 4x800 relay team also came through with 10 team points after taking first with a time of 7:41.25. The Tigers in the event were Rob Hulick, Aaron Reed, Josh Kauke and Jonathan Kieliszak.
The Cornell 4x400 squad of Mike Nanasszko, Greg Sidmonds, Kolby Hoover and Brian Eremita captured the 4x400 relay title, but a second-place finish by Princeton allowed the Tigers to hold on to the team lead and capture the 2004 Heps title.
Dartmouth's Mustafa Abdur-Rahim and Columbia's Steve Sundell shared the men's Athlete of the Meet honor. Abdur-Rahim hit an NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the heptathlon with a total of 5,645 points. Sundell won the 5000-meter crown on Sunday, and also took the 3000-meter title on the first day of Heps.
Princeton's Jonathan Kieliszak captured his second Heps crown of the weekend with a win in the mile with a time of 4:10.03. Kieliszak, who also won the mile title in 2002, placed just ahead of Brown's Brendan O'Keefe (4:11.76) and Penn's Mark Materna (4:12.10).
Penn senior Matt Wedge closed out his indoor Heps career as a two-time champ in the 60-meter hurdles. Wedge's time of 8.12 beat out Brown's Daveed Diggs (8.18) and Princeton's Raymond Lenihan (8.21). Wedge won his first Heps title last season at 7.98 and now owns three of the top 60-meter times all-time at indoor Heps.
Erison Hurtault won the Columbia Lions' first-ever individual title in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 48.54. Princeton's Mike Kopp (1:04.46) and Cornell's Kolby Hoover (1:05.23) placed one-two in the 500-meter run.
Princeton took first and third in the shot put to tally 16 team points and close the gap in the team scores to eight at Cornell 113-Princeton 105. The Tigers' Paul Lyons toss of 56-03.75 was good for first, while teammate Rocky Craley's distance of 53-09.25 was good for third. Cornell's Zach Beadle threw a 54-05.25 in capturing second.
On the women's side, the Big Red and Tigers were separated by only 11 points at 119-108 with only the shot put, triple jump and relays remaining. Big performances by Cornell in all four events powered the Big Red to its second-straight Indoor Heps team title.
The Big Red took first in the 4x400 relay, triple jump and shot put to go along with a second-place 4x800 finish to wrap up its title.
In the 4x400, Kari Steed, Linda Trotter, Cameron Washington and Shonda Brown raced to a 3:48.65 first-place showing. Becky Tucker won the shot put with a distance of 44-00.00, and Ibralate Stanley-Ikhilioju jumped 40-09.00 to win the triple jump.
The Big Red placed second in the 4x800, behind Brown's 8:56.19.
Princeton sophomore Cack Ferrell, the female Athlete of the Meet, ran a 4:50.88 to claim the top spot in the mile, while teammate Emily Kroshus, this year's 5000-meter champion, placed second at 4:51.79. Ferrell also took first in the 3000-meter run at 9:38.34.1
Cornell also used big finishes in the 400-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles to rack up 40 team points.
In the 400-meter dash, the Big Red took the top three spots to pick up 24 team points. Kari Steed (56.19), Cameron Washington (56.40) and Shonda Brown (56.46) placed one-two-three for Cornell in the event.
The Tigers were strong in the 3000-meter run, taking first, third and fourth in the event. Princeton's Ferrell (9:38.34), Meredith Lambert (9:40.46) and Emily Kroshus (9:48.09) were joined by Penn's Emily Logan, who took second with a time of 9:39.77.
Johanna Garrity and Stephanie King of Cornell placed one and three in the 60-meter dash at 8.86 and 8.89, respectively. Penn's Jeanette Curtis was the second-place finisher with a time of 8.86.
Garrity also won the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.95. Teammate Lauren Broadnax ran a 25.20 for third, while in second place was Chanel Lattimer of Princeton with a time of 25.01.