Track teams score well at Sam Howell Invitational

Sometimes, seemingly insignificant events can be microcosms of the bigger picture. Two events at this weekend's Sam Howell Memorial Invitational at Weaver Stadium — hosted by the men's and women's track teams — encapsulate the seasons of both squads.

On the men's side, in the first heat of the 100-meter dash, Princeton entered five of the six runners. The only non-Tiger disqualified himself after a false start, and the remaining Princeton sprinters were left to race against friendly opponents.

As for the women, in the 1500, sophomore Holly Huffman dueled against Heidi Wolfsberger of Moravian throughout the race. As both began their final lap, Huffman had nearly pulled even with Wolfsberger, but Wolfsberger was just a little stronger during the last lap, and pulled away down the stretch for first place. Huffman finished at four minutes, 39.6 seconds, good for second.

The Invitational — which held the 5000 on Friday and all other events Saturday — brought together around 20 teams from New Jersey and neighboring states. Ivy League rival Columbia was among the schools represented at the meet.

The men's current season, and even their last few seasons, have been much like the first heat of the 100. Princeton has dominated its competition at Heps and in other track and cross country meets since the fall of 1997 with a lethal combination of solid individual performances and unmatched depth. Other Ivy League teams have had major disadvantages against the Tigers from the opening gun.

The women, however, have put together quality showings at many meets — like Huffman in the 1500 Saturday — but simply haven't had the ability to get the results they would like. But things might be turning around for the Tigers after strong efforts at the Hurricane Invitational to kick off the season and their good showing at this weekend's home meet.

"We had a lot of good performances for this early in the outdoor season," senior captain Allison Brown said.

The jumpers have provided many of those strong Princeton performances. The Tigers managed to nab first and second place in the high jump. Senior captain Shawneequa Callier — a cornerstone of the team all season — won the event with a mark of 1.69 meters, and junior Rebecca Desman jumped 1.64 m for second.

One of Princeton's new additions to the track team, freshman hockey standout Nikola Holmes, also performed well with a 5.41 m leap to win the long jump. The jumpers weren't done there, however, as juniors Sharon Jordan (11.67 m) and Ericka Dickson (11.53 m) were the winner and runner-up in the triple jump.

It wasn't only the jumpers who performed well in the meet — a number of runners also had strong showings. Sophomores Lauren Simmons and Natalie Deffenbaugh battled each other for first place in the first heat of the 800. Simmons eventually prevailed in a time of 2:10.53 to Deffenbaugh's clocking of 2:12.10, but both managed to achieve a good deal of separation from the large pack of runners.

"I was particularly impressed with Lauren running a 2:10," Brown, who finished second in the 400 at 57.76, said."I thought it was a good finish in my first 400 of the outdoor season."

Princeton's men continued their run of strong performances across the board, performing well in sprinting, distance and field events. Sophomore Ryan Smith won the 400, clocking in at 48.78. Senior captain John Mack ran the 200 in 21.3, finishing as the runner-up in the event. The 5000 was kind to junior distance specialist Tensai Asfaw, who placed fourth with a time of 14:33.39. Freshman David Gary posted a mark of 14.40 m in the triple jump, claiming first overall.

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In the field, the shot putters — some of the Tigers' most reliable athletes throughout the year — came through for Princeton yet again. Junior captain Scott Denbo threw 18.80 m for another first place showing, while freshman teammate Jeff Petrulis was second with a toss of 16.61 m. The pole vaulters also stood out for the Tigers, with junior Jonathan Jessup (4.65 m) and freshman Brandon Braunstein (4.50 m) taking second and third place.