Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Day 1 of the #NCAATF Championships
June 10, 2015 | Men's Track and Field
Day 1 (midnight): Sam Pons ran an awesome race in the 10k! He was just one place out of first-team All-America, which was his goal. This is the second straight year Princeton has had a 10k runner finish ninth. Pons ran a PR of 29:17 in the race and held steady in the pack throughout the race, never dropping back or pushing too soon. All and all it was a good day for the Tigers! Be sure to check out the video interviews with both Pons and Soerens on GPT and check back in tomorrow as we go full throttle on the women's side, and the continuation of the decathlon.
Day 1 (6:35 p.m.): Soerens will finish Day 1 in 4th place in the decathlon. Quite impressive - since he was the final qualifier in the event, entering today 24th. He had three decathlon PRs and has more than 120 point lead over his previous best day 1 score of 3,975 from this year's Heps. I'll catch up with him later to get his thoughts on today, his performances and how he is feeling. One more Tiger remains today, that's Sam Pons in the 10k. Running a bit behind here, by about half hour. The 400 hurdles are being contested, then the 200 and then the 10k.
Day 1 (4:15 p.m.): It's been a great start to the decathlon for Stephen Soerens. He ran a PR in the 100, had a decathlon PR in the long jump, the second best throw in the shot put and was second in his flight the high jump. After three events he sits in third place with 2,517 points. His father and grandfather are here cheering him on. Some other Princeton sightings: former Tiger thrower Craig Pearce and the parents of former Princeton football player Tommy Stewart - who are Oregon natives. Speaking of former Tigers, Peter Callahan qualifies for the final of the 1500 after finishing fourth in his heat. The anchor of Princeton's national champion distance medley relay in 2013 is finishing his eligibility at New Mexico.
Day 1 (10:30 a.m.): It's opening day of the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships here in Tracktown USA (Eugene, Oregon). It's a beautifully sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70s. This year the meet will take on a different look, in order to accommodate better coverage on TV. ESPN family of networks will showcase the meet this year. The genders will be separated to make for a more compact day. Today and Friday will be men's days, while Thursday and Saturday will be women's days. It will be interesting to see if there wil be a difference in crowd size for those opposite days.
Today we have two Tigers competing. Stephen Soerens will begin the decathlon at 11:30 a.m. The first event is the 100 and he will be in the first heat. The other five members of the team will be coming up to Hayward Field, a nice walk from the team hotel, to cheer him on. The other four events today will be the long jump at 12:15, shot put at 1:30, high jump at 2:45 and the 400 at 5:44. (all times PT).
Soerens is the first decathlete to compete at the NCAA Championships since Peter Hunt in 1988. Hunt was roommates at Princeton with Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. The two remain close friends, and Garrett is the godfather of Hunt's children.
Sam Pons will compete in the 10k at 6:43. He's joined here this weekend by his mom, who made her way up the West Coast from Los Angeles. A gorgeoous drive along the coast, from what I hear. Pons keeps Princeton streak of 10k qualifiers alive at four years: Chris Bendtsen in 2013 & 2014, Michael Franklin in 2013 and Brian Leung in 2012.
This is the first time Soerens and Pons have competed at the NCAA Championships.
Check @PUTigers and @PrincetonTrack for updates or follow along with the live results. Meet coverage will also be televised on ESPN family of networks. For more information check out the Princeton preview of the meet.
|
Wednesday Competitiion |
||
|
Decathlon |
11:30 a.m. PT |
|
|
10k |
6:43 p.m. PT |
More updates to come....