Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Cross Country Teams Open Both 2006 Season and New Course Saturday Morning
September 08, 2006 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
The Princeton cross country teams have a brand-new home course beginning in 2006, and the Tigers will waste no time in christening that course when they host the season-opening Princeton Invitational Saturday morning on the West Windsor Fields.
The men's race begins at 10 a.m., with the women's race following at 10:45. Iona, Manhattan, and Villanova will join the Princeton men on the course, while those same three visitors in addition to Rutgers will make it a five-team event on the women's side.
The new Princeton course begins and ends just over the Washington Road bridge over Lake Carnegie from the Princeton campus. The course, six kilometers on the women's side and eight kilometers for the men, travels toward U.S. Route 1 from the start before winding back around into several loops on the West Windsor Fields.
On the men's side, the Tigers have a host of solid returnees including junior David Nightingale, who participated in last year's NCAA championships in cross country and was the Heptagonal 3,000-meter champion on the track in the spring. Sophomore Michael Maag is poised for a big second season after an outstanding year in 2005-06, while several standout freshmen could be immediate contributors for the Tigers.
The Princeton women have reached three straight NCAA championship meets as a team, and senior captain Catha Mullen will lead the Tigers in 2006 as they look for another top 20 national finish. Her sister, Caroline, along with Mia Swenson, have also been key scorers for the Tigers throughout their careers. Other standouts such as sophomore Jolee VanLeuven, senior Claire Filloux and freshman Liz Costello will look to lead the Tigers to the top of the Ivy League standings in 2006.
Both teams finished second at their respective Ivy League Heptagonal championships in 2005. The 2006 Ivy League Heptagonal meet takes place Fri., Oct. 27, at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City.