Princeton University Athletics
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Tigers Win Pair Of Championships Thursday Night At Penn Relays
April 24, 2008 | Women's Track and Field
A busy day of Princeton women's track & field action Thursday at the Penn Relays ended with a pair of Tiger champions as sophomore Liz Costello won the 3,000 meters and freshman Ashley Higginson won the 5,000 meters in the respective "championship" divisions in those events.
Costello dominated the 22-runner field featuring runners from schools such as Michigan, Georgia Tech and South Carolina, finishing the 7 1/2 laps in 9:35.01. The second-place finisher, Aeriel Emig of Cornell, was more than eight seconds behind.
In the 5,000, immediately following the 3,000, HIgginson won her third Penn Relays title by finishing in 16:22.56, just ahead of Yale's Lindsay Donaldson and another Tiger freshman, Sarah Cummings, who was third in 16:30.52. Higginson had twice won the high school girls 3,000 meters as a prep athlete at Colts Neck High School in New Jersey.
Princeton also had a second-place finisher in the distance events in junior Megan Brandeland, who fought for the lead in the steeplechase "championship" race before finishing in 10:24.67.
Earlier in the day, the field events took center stage for Princeton, with both Isabell von Loga (shot put) and Jess Kloss (pole vault) competing in "championship" divisions. von Loga's best toss was 47 feet, two inches; Kloss cleared a top height of 12 feet, 7 1/2 inches in her event.
In other field event action, Emma Giunipero finished seventh among 26 competitors in the college women's discus event with a toss of 142 feet, four inches, while Emma Harper's hammer throw of 165 feet, eight inches was fifth best among throwers in the college event. Freshman Thanithia Billings competed in the "Eastern" pole vault field, finishing fifth with a best throw of 45 feet, six inches, while Courtney Regan had a pole vault of 11 feet, 5 1/4 inches in the college pole vault.
Princeton also had a mile relay team compete in the Heptagonal race featuring six other Ivy schools. The group of Leanne Bellar, Katie Sirico, Melissa Swigert and Agatha Offorjebe finished fourth in 3:49.74.