Princeton University Athletics
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Men's Track & Field Seeks Triple Crown as Heps Nears
May 06, 2015 | Men's Track and Field
Live Results l Webstream (Sunday only) l Schedule
PRINCETON, N.J. (5/6/14) – American Pharoah and the Princeton men's track team are both chasing its own triple crowns. Though the odds on Pharoah taking it all is 3:1, Princeton has a leg up in its triple crown – having already won cross country and indoor track & field. The Tigers have won six triples in program history, its last coming in 2012. Like California Chrome in 2014 the Tigers were a near miss two years ago after winning cross and outdoor, and losing indoor by one point.The third race happens this weekend, May 9 & 10 as the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championship heads to Phildelphia. The meet begins on Saturday, May 9 with the hammer throw at Irv Monschein Fields at 2:30 p.m. The first track event at Franklin Field is slated for 3 p.m., the trials of the 110-meter hurdles.
Sunday's action will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network. Live results will also be available and the crew from @HepsTrack will keep you updated on Twitter.
SPRINTS & HURDLES
Last year's 100-meter champion John Hill looks to retain his title in the event. He'll be pushed by freshman sprinting sensation Carrington Akosa, who won in indoor 200 and was second in the 60. Sophomore Brent Albertson and junior Dre Nelson are contenders in the short sprints as well. Albertson has the fourth-best time in the league in the 200 at 21.66 and Nelson was a scorer in the indoor 60 this winter.
Junior Greg Caldwell has been a scorer in every Heps hurdles event he has entered. He was second in the 110-meter last year and third in 2013. He owns the third-best time in the league at 14.29 and has a great partner in senior Rob Mohr. Mohr is a two-time scorer in the 110-meter hurdles and brings the sixth-best time, 14.46.
Sophomore Greg Leeper looks to bring the Tigers a victory in the 400 hurdles. He has the second best time entering the meet at 53.25 and took fith a year ago.
MIDDLE DISTANCE
Three Tigers are in the top 10 in the league in the 800, with freshman Joshua Ingalls posting the third-best time at 1:49.36. Senior Bradley Paternostro follows at 1:49.63 and has been a scorer three times in the 800, both indoor and out, and freshman Noah Kauppila is seventh at 1:50.39. Paternostro also boasts the second-best 1500 time in the league at 3:42.88.
DISTANCE
Princeton should be optimistic when it comes to the distance races, as it is the reigning cross country champion.
Senior Mike Mazzaccaro has the second-best time in the league in the 5k at 14:05.98. He was a scorer in both the 3k and 5k indoors. Seniors Sam Pons and Matt McDonald bring the fourth and fifth best times in the league in the 10k. Pons has a 29:35.78, while McDonald has a 29:38.76.
Senior Connor Martin looks to make a return to scoring in the steeplechase after not competing last year. He was sixth as both a sophomore and a freshman and brings a 9:06.33, sixth best time in the league, into Heps.
RELAYS
The 4x100 relay has a four-year tradition of finishing in second place but this could be the year Princeton pushes ahead for first. The Tigers have the best time in the league at 40.68, the only relay to have a time under 41 seconds. Princeton also has the best 4x400 time at 3:12.73. The Tigers have been either first or second in this event the last four years.
JUMPS
The Tigers are relying on senior Adam Bragg to put up a big number in the pole vault. He set the school record this past weekend with a 5.42 (17-9.25) and that is more than a foot higher than the rest of the league. Sophomore Ben Gaylord and freshman August Kiles should push for scoring positions as well as both are in the top 7 in the league.
Sophomore Xavier Bledsoe has cleared 2.00 (6-6.75) in the high jump to rank in the top 10 in the league.
Princeton went 1-2-3 in the long jump indoors and is looking to maintain if not better than spectactular scoring. Leeper won the event indoors, with Tumi Akinlawon second and Jake Scinto third. Scinto currently has the best mark of the bunch in the outdoor season at 7.39 (24-3), which is third best in the league. Akinlawon has a 7.25 (23-9.5) and Leeper has a 7.20 (23-7.5) to rank fifth and sixth.
Senior Nana Owusu-Nyantekyi owns the top spot in the league in the triple jump at 15.65 (51-4.25). He's the only jumped to clear 50 meters. Freshman Lane Russell, who was fourth indoors at Heps could score again as well as he has a 14.51 (47-7.25) entering the weekend.
THROWS
Princeton brings three of the top four throwers in the shot put to Heps. Sophomore Chris Cook has the second-best mark at 18.48 (60-7.75), followed by freshman Mitchel Charles at 17.66 (57-11.25) and senior Scott Rushton at 17.59 (57-8.5). Cook was second indoors, while Rushton was third. Expect big points in this event.
Charles and Cook will team up for more points in the discus. Charles has the fifth-best mark in the league at 52.86 (173-5), while Cook has the sixth-best mark at 51.59 (169-3) and was a scorer last year.
Sophomore Vic Youn looks to earn his first points in Heps in the hammer throw. He has the Tigers best throw at 58.63 (192-4), which ranks him fourth in the league. Senior Jake Taylor was a scoring last year and will push for one of those top six spots again this year.
MULTI
Stephen Soerens PR at Heps last year with a second-place finish. As a senior he looks to take the decathlon title. He was also second as a sophomore and third his freshman year. Soerens enters the meet with the top score of the decathletes in the league at 7,101. Junior Bryan Oslin has scored in the multis four times, both indoor and out.