Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men Lead, Women Close Second After First Day Of Ivy League Heptagonal Track
March 01, 2008 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Both the Princeton men's and women's track teams are in tight races with Cornell after the first day of Ivy League Heptagonals at Cornell's Barton Hall, with the men's total of 44 points after four events four points ahead of the Big Red and the women's total of 33.5 points after three events just 1.5 points behind the hosts.
The Tiger men lead the way thanks to a Heps champion in the 3,000 meters and a pair of scorers in each of the three field events in which finals took place Saturday.
Junior Michael Maag, the Heps cross country champion in the fall, won the 3,000 meters Saturday in a time of 8:31.59, just off the ECAC qualifying mark and giving the Tigers their first champion of the meet.
Princeton took both second and third place in the weight throw, with Alex Pessala's toss of 64 feet, 3 1/4 inches just shy of the top mark but still an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Freshman Craig Pearce's toss of 59 feet, nine inches was good for third place in the event.
The Tigers were third and fourth in the pole vault, as both Will Byrd and Chad Faulkner cleared the 16-foot mark, whlie Duane Hynes jumped an outstanding 23 feet, 4 3/4 inches for a third-place long jump, with Nick Crumpton right behind in fifth.
Hynes also leads the heptathlon after Day One with 3,040 points through four events. In all, Princeton has qualified 10 athletes for Sunday finals in addition to the relay events that will take place on the final day.
On the women's side, Princeton is near the top thanks to a champion and bronze medalist in the 5,000 meters and some strong performances in the weight throw.
Freshman Sarah Cummings earned her first Heps championship by winning the 5,000 in a time of 16:47.83, while junior Jolee VanLeuven was close behind in third in 16.56.57. Cummings' mark was just short of the NCAA provisional qualifying time in the event.
Another freshman, Emma Ruggiero, led the Tigers in the weight throw with a toss of 52 feet, 6 3/4 inches, an ECAC qualifying mark, whille senior Emma Harper also had a scoring performance in fifth place right behind Ruggiero.
Princeton will have eight finalists in Sunday events, including Heps champion Agatha Offorjebe in both the 200 and 400 meters, as the Tigers look to unseat six-time defending champion Cornell.
Complete results from Saturday and a meet schedule are available at therelays.blogspot.com