Women's Track and Field Stuns on Day One of Heps as Four Tigers Win Titles, 22 Advance

ITHACA, N.Y. – On day one of the 2025 Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Championships, the Princeton women's track and field team shined as four Tigers captured individual championship titles and 22 other Tigers qualified for tomorrow's finals.

After today's results with five events scored, Princeton leads the team standings with 56 points, two points ahead of Harvard in second place. Princeton enters tomorrow with at least one Tiger in the final of each event.

Final Events
Julia Jongejeugd started strong, setting the tone for the day by breaking the school record in the pentathlon 60mH, the team's first event of the meet. Jongejeugd ran an impressive 8.48, breaking the previous record of 8.50 set by Isabella Hilditch in 2020. Jongejeugd's success didn't stop there, though, as the junior moved through her next four events.

Jongejeugd took second in the shot put, throwing 12.59m / 41' 3.75". In the high jump, she took third with a mark of 1.65m/5-5.0". And in the long jump, she jumped 5.59m / 18' 4.25" - just a mere two centimeters off from her personal record in the event.

Still, in an extremely close pentathlon event, it came down to the final event to determine a winner. Beginning the 800, Jongejeugd took off, finding herself in the middle of the pack. Through each lap. Jongejeugd pushed herself, kicking out runner after runner before giving it her all in the final stretch. Jongejeugd raced towards the finish with arms pumping hard, running through the line and immediately dropping into a ball on the ground after her sprint.

It wasn't until Shea Greene ran over to her, crouched with one arm around her and the other holding her phone with the results, that Jongejeugd realized she had done it.

Not only did she run a new personal best in the 800m (2:25.41, an over one second improvement from her previous best), but she was the 2025 Ivy League Champion in the Pentathlon. And she won the title by just four points.

Meanwhile, across the oval, another big moment was about to take place in the throwing cage.

Fighting a nasty cold, Angela McAuslan-Kelly was waiting for her fourth attempt of the weight throw. She was already comfortably in the lead after throwing 19.90m/65-3.5" in her second attempt, so the pressure was off for now.

She stepped into the circle, spun around, and launched the weight. Then, she stepped out, walked over to her coach, and waited to hear the result.

"20.21" announced the scorer. Not believing her ears, McAuslan-Kelly squinted and leaned forward to hear it again.

"20.21." She broke out into celebration - high-fiving Coach Eisenreich, hugging her teammate, jumping and cheering. McAuslan-Kelly, in what seemed like her own version Michael Jordan's famous flu game, earned a long sought-after new personal record in the weight throw, improving from her previous best of 19.60m to break 20 and throw 20.21m/66-3.75".

And for her efforts, she had a shiny new "Ivy League Champion" medal waiting for her at the awards table.

After a quick coughing fit, McAuslan-Kelly hopped up onto the top of the podium, displaying the 2025 Ivy Champion sign, her medal, and a glowing smile.

Reflecting on her performance, McAuslan-Kelly said the cold helped her in a way - it caused her to let go of expectations, release pressure, and calmly do the best she could. And clearly, it worked.

While those two events book-ended the day, two more Tigers earned championships on day one.

The 3000m saw Mena Scatchard close on the tail of Harvard's Molly Malague through the entire race and the penultimate lap, keeping pace with her opponent before breaking away in the bell lap.

Zooming around the oval, Scatchard left her opponents in the dust - there was no catching her as she ran around the final turn and through the finish in just 9:11.80, confidently winning the championship.

While Scatchard led for the entirety of her event, the road to the podium was a bit different for Alexandra Kelly.

With three jumps down, Kelly found herself in fourth place behind Harvard's Izzy Goudros's, who had a mark of 6.23m. Kelly had jumped 6.08m in her first attempt, but had not broken 6m in her next two - a benchmark she had only met once before this season.

The team was building on each other's successes all day. On the track, Adelaide Asante had finished her 200m prelim and qualified for tomorrow's final. She ran over and hugged Kelly, and as if she passed the positive energy right to her, Kelly went on to do her best jump yet.

Kelly launched herself 6.25m/20-6.25" - 20 centimeters off of her all-time best. She also took the lead in the event by two centimeters.

Goudros was able to replicate her 6.23m mark, but nobody could match Kelly. So when it was time for awards, it was Kelly who stood at the top of the podium, holding the sign and bearing the medal that read "Ivy League Champion."

Tessa Mudd found more points yet for Princeton on day one, placing fourth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.16m/13-7.75" to add to the team score and put the Tigers ahead.

Prelim Events
While the Tigers competing in finals took care of business on day one, so did the Tigers fighting for the chance to compete in tomorrow's finals.

In a triumph, the Tigers have at least one athlete in each of tomorrow's final events. The action will start with the women's mile, as Scatchard and Lexi Allen will take the track after qualifying in today's prelims.

Asante qualified for the finals with an incredible 200 race, running a new personal best 24.26 which also puts her at second all-time in program history. Having a day, Asante also set a new personal best in the 60mH, running 8.53, securing her spot in the final.

Joining Asante in the 60mH final will be Giselle Kirchner, who also ran a personal best 8.58 to qualify for the final.

Brooke Jackson also had a standout performance in the 60, running a college best time of 7.48, just .04 seconds off from her all-time personal best.

Freshman-phenom Jazmyn Singh will compete in tomorrow's 400 final, after securing her spot with an impressive 55.69 time.

The 500 final will feature Stella Vieth and Maisha Atkinson, after Atkinson won the prelim with a new personal record of 1:11.56.

Peyton Leigh ran the 800 prelim in 2:08.48, setting a new personal best for automatic qualification. Maddie Cramer will join her after running a qualifying time of 2:10.60.

In the 1000, Hannah Riggins and Olivia Martin will represent Princeton, with Riggins earning second in the prelim race with a time of 2:49.29 and Martin qualifying with a time of 2:51.32 - a new college best.

Day one was full of wins, with the Tigers seeming to encourage each other and become stronger and stronger as they saw each other succeed throughout the day.

The greatness was contagious, and the atmosphere in Barton Hall only seemed to fuel the team.

As Assistant Coach Brad Hunt put it, "the best moment, all day, was the next moment." And that same mentality, palpable energy, and gratitude for one another will lead them into tomorrow.

Up Next
Princeton will close out Heps tomorrow as the Tigers look to build on the successes of day one in search of their first Ivy Indoor Championship since 2011. The action will begin at 11:30 a.m. in Barton Hall.

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