Track & Field: At Princeton Relays, hosts claim victory

Under the leadership of head coach Fred Samara, the men’s team took the gold in six events at the Princeton Relays on Jan. 22. The team’s newest and youngest, in particular, have a promising future with the Tigers. Freshman Damon McLean won the triple jump with a performance of 15.05 meters, while classmate Chris Bendsten won the mile in 4 minutes, 13.96 seconds. Another freshman, Tom Scott, was a member of the 4x400m relay team that finished first with a total time of 3:21.52.

Junior Austin Hollimon, another member of the 4x400m team, ran the 300m race in record time. He broke Princeton’s previous record of 33.88 seconds, which he set last season, and replaced it with 33.53.

With 11 victories at the Princeton Relays on Jan. 29, the women’s team earned its fair share of bragging rights as well. The Tigers dominated the field events: Senior Emma Ruggiero won the weight throw, senior Thanithia Billings won the shot put, and sophomore Tory Worthen won the pole vault. Worthen is also a staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

On the track, senior Bianca Mathabane was the 60m hurdle champion, finishing in 8.94 seconds, while classmate Ashley Higginson blazed through the mile in 4:50.63. Princeton took every medal in the 500m, and the women’s team continued to dominate. The Tigers won the 300m, 800m, 1000m, 3000m and 4x400m.

But the “runner’s highs”, so to speak, were far from over. The men’s team placed first overall at New York Road Runners, beating Cornell by 4.67 points. Among the outstanding performances, Hollimon broke another Princeton record when he ran the 400m in 46.47, the fifth fastest time in the world. Dinkins ran the 500m in 1:02.09, winning the race for Princeton. McLean, the only participant to clear 50 feet, won the triple jump, and senior Craig Pearce took the title in weight throw.

The women’s team placed second in New York, finishing 10 points behind Cornell. Billings secured first place in both the shot put and the weight throw. In pole vault, freshman Samantha Anderson and Worthen tied at 3.7 meters for second place, among five jumpers who earned 21 points for Princeton.

In the track events, junior Eileen Moran won the 400m dash in a tight finish, her time of 56.63 less than a second better than her closest competitor. Junior Danielle Glaeser finished fifth and sophomore Joie Hand finished eighth in the same event.

Adding to the Tigers’ point totals in the event was freshman Kristin Smoot. Smoot continued a successful rookie campaign by notching a third-place finish in the 800m, coming in with a time of 2:11.64. Sophomores Alexis Mikaelian and Mel Newbery also found success, running the mile in 4:47.76 and 4:50.93, respectively. Newbery is also a staff writer for the ‘Prince.’

In the 4x400m relay, the team of Glaeser, Hand, Moran, and sophomore Melissa Zajdel placed second with a time of 3:48.23 — only one second behind the first-place team from Villanova. The Tigers’ 4x800m relay team — consisting of freshmen Molly Higgins and Kacie O’Neil, Mikaelian, and Newbery — also earned a second-place finish with its time of 9:08.63.

Both teams will next compete in the Penn State Open on Feb. 4. If the Tigers continue to perform at this level then they may be able to satisfy their craving for gold by season’s end.