Princeton University Athletics
Princeton to Host 2011 Ivy League Cross Country Heptagonal
July 27, 2011 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
PRINCETON, N.J. (7/27/11) - The 2011 Ivy League Cross Country Heptagonal will be held at West Windsor Fields on the campus of Princeton University. The championship will take place on Saturday, October 29.
This is just the third time in the 72 year history of Heps, that the championship will be held somewhere other than Van Cortlandt Park, the site of the last 31 Heps. The site was changed because of ongoing construction at Van Cortlandt Park that concerned the league's coaches.
This is not the first time that the event will take place in Princeton. The 1947 championship was held at the Princeton Battlefield, the former home of the Tigers' cross country programs. The other non Van Cortlandt Park Heps was at Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pa., in 1979.
West Windsor Fields became the official home of Princeton cross country in 2006. The course is located entirely on campus, located just over the Washington Road bridge from campus. It winds through soy bean fields toward Route 1 and back around to intramural playing fields. The manicured grass loop measures one and a half miles and varies quite a bit in terrain. At the 1,000-meter mark you get a beautiful elevated vista of Princeton's campus. The men's course measures 8,000 meters while the women race over a 6,000 course. With its even footing, it is an absolutely terrific place to do longer interval training.
This is not the first championship to be held at West Windsor Fields. The 2008 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional was held on the course with 26 women's teams and 24 men's team competing for a bid to the NCAA Championships.