Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Ivy League Heptagonal
Players Mentioned
Men's Track & Field Sets Heps Point Record with Second Straight Title
February 27, 2011 | Men's Track and Field
NEW YORK (2/27/11) - The Princeton men's track & field team is the 2011 Ivy League Heptagonal Champion. The Tigers won their second straight indoor title and did so in impressive fashion, as the team total is an all-time indoor Heptagonal high.
Junior Donn Cabral was named the Male Outstanding Performer of the Meet after posting double distance wins in both the 3000 and 5000.
After winning the 3000 yesterday, Cabral captured the 5000 win this afternoon at 14:08.58. He was nearly two seconds ahead of Cornell's Nate Edelman who led the field along with the Cabral, until the final turn. Junior Brian Leung was third at 14:11.78 and freshman Chris Bendtsen was fifth at 14:18.65 to give Princeton 18 points in the event.
Senior George Abyad is the shot put champion. Entering with the second-best mark in the league he won the event with a throw of 16.99 meters (55-9). Junior Patrick Park was the runner-up at 16.89 (55-5).
Freshman Damon McLean won his first Heptagonal title in the triple jump. He leaped to 15.55 meters (51-0.25). Junior Garner McCloud placed fourth with a mark of 14.53 (47-8).
Princeton dominated the long sprints and middle distance, winning the 400, 500, 800 and 1,000.
Seniors Mark Amirault and Kyle Soloff went 1-2 in the mile. Amirault posted a winning time of 4:10.60 while Soloff ran 4:10.93. The pair was able to push past Cornell's Adrien Dannemiller who had the fastest time in the preliminary round. Dannemiller had the lead at the half-mile mark and held on to it into the final lap before Amiralt and Soloff made late moves to get in front, pushing Dannemiller to third. Princeton got additional points from junior Joe Stilin who clocked in at 4:13.05 for sixth place.
Sophomore Peter Callahan captured a win in the 1000 with a meet record time of 2:22.94. He was 1.09 ahead of the second-place runner. Callahan was in second place with two laps remaining and made a late push to take the title, breaking a 23-year record of 2:23.06 set by Yale's Patrick Swift in 1987. Junior Trevor Van Ackeren finished in fourth place with a time of 2:24.95.
Sophomore Russell Dinkins set a meet record in winning the 800. He ran 1:48.29, 1.31 faster than the second-place runner. Dinkins made a move on the final lap to get ahead of Columbia's Jeff Moriarity and would keep the lead to the finish line. Senior Jordan Sawadogo placed fifth at 1:51.68.
Senior Mike Eddy followed up winning the 500 at 1:02.74. He was the runner up last year.
Justin Austin Hollimon won his second straight 400 title, cruising in at 46.61. Freshman Tom Hopkins was fourth, after having the best time in the first flight, at 48.63.
Sophomore Richard Sheldon ran 8.02 in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles to finish in third place. His time was just one-hundredth of a second out of runner-up time.
In the high jump, freshman Omar Jarrett placed fifth clearing 1.98 (6-6) to earn two points for the Tigers.
In the relays, Princeton would get wins in both the distance medley and the 4x400 while placing second in the 4x800.
The DMR of Van Ackeren, Amirault, Stilin and Nilan Schnure posted a winning time of 9:47.74. Yale finished in second place, three seconds later. With two laps remaining it was Harvard-Princeton-Yale. Princeton took the lead on the final lap for the win.
Princeton set an Ivy League record in the 4x4 earlier this season but would use a different lineup for Heps. The lineup of Hopkins, Eddy, Hollimon and Ricky Kearney didn't change a thing as the Tigers won at 312.83, nearly two seconds faster than second-place Brown. Princeton started to make a move right before the final exchange. Hollimon would hold off Brown easily in the last leg with Cornell, who led at the first exchange, taking third.
Sawadogo, Soloff, Callahan and Dinkins made up the 4x800 that would take second at 7:29.29. Princeton had lead on final exchange but was nudged on the final turn by Columbia.
Cornell finished second with 172 points. Dartmouth was third with 45 points, just four ahead of Harvard. Penn was fifth with 32, followed by Columbia with 31, Brown with 28 and Yale with 25.