Following a successful Ivy League Championships weekend, a select few Princeton track and field athletes will extend their season and compete at the NCAA Championships in Virginia Beach on March 14 and 15. Athletes ranked inside the top 16 in the NCAA in their respective events and relay teams ranked in the top 12x have been given invitations to the championships.
‘I want to go for the win’: Harrison Witt, Men’s Mile
Entering 2025, senior Harrison Witt had not yet broken 4:00 in the mile. He’s since lowered the school and Ivy League records twice, culminating in a 3:52.87 PR which ranks 11th in the NCAA this season.
Witt will be the first Tiger to contest the mile at nationals since 2014, and should he advance to the final, he would be the first Princetonian to do so since 2012. However, the fastest mile runner in Princeton's history wants more.
“I want to go for the win. At the end of the day, the difference between second and fifth and eighth doesn’t really matter a whole lot,” Witt told The Daily Princetonian. “I think I’m strong enough to win a national championship, and I truly believe that.”
Witt anticipates the final will be a tactical affair, slower during the opening laps with a fast close. Historically, this has been the case. In the last 10 indoor mile championships, only two have seen the winner break 4:00.
“There are probably 10 guys who all believe they have the best kick in the NCAA, and I’m one of them,” Witt added. To sharpen this kick, crucial for contending in a tactical race, Witt dropped down in distance at Heps last weekend and ran the 1000m and the 4x800m, winning both.
NCAA record holder (3:48.32) Ethan Strand of UNC and NCAA No. 2 all-time Gary Martin (3:48.82) of UVA have both scratched, creating a void that all 16 racers will be vying to fill. Despite the big losses at the top, eight of the top 15 mile times in NCAA history have been achieved this year, so the field is still as stacked as it has ever been.
Mena Scatchard, Women’s Mile
Senior Mena Scatchard is in the middle of one of the best seasons in Princeton indoor track history. She lowered the all-time Princeton record in the mile by over eight seconds, clocking a 4:28.43, and also broke the school records in the 800m and the 3000m. Scatchard won three events at Heps, playing an immense role in bringing home the team trophy. Now, Scatchard will become the second Tiger ever, and first since 2008, to toe the starting line for the NCAA Championships mile.
“[I am] confident in myself and know I can hang with the best in the country,” Scatchard told the ‘Prince’ on her mindset entering the competition. “My goal is to advance to the final and see how high I can place!”
Should Scatchard achieve this goal, she would be the only Tiger to make the 10-person final in the event’s 42-year history.
Unlike the men’s race, the NCAA record holder is not sitting this one out. Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz posted a new collegiate record of 4:23.46 earlier this year, and the rest of the field is strong too. While Scatchard ranks 15th out of the group, her time would have made her the second-fastest qualifier just two years ago.
Greg Foster, Men’s Long Jump
Junior Greg Foster is four for four in Ivy League long jump titles since arriving at Princeton (he did not compete at outdoor Heps in 2024), and now he’s jumped his way to the biggest stage.
The stage is a familiar one though, and Foster is quite experienced under the brightest lights. He made the NCAA Championships as a first-year in 2023, placing 15th, and he recently placed eighth at this February’s USATF Indoor Championships.
With Arkansas’s Olympic silver medalist Wayne Pinnock having graduated, there is no runaway favorite. USC’s duo of JC Stevenson and Johnny Brackins are likely to be top contenders, but they are both entered in sprint events too, whereas much of rest of the field will be fresh.
Men’s Distance Medley Relay (DMR)
Earlier this season, the men’s DMR squad of junior Connor McCormick, sophomore Xavier Donaldson, senior Sam Rodman, and Witt smashed the Ivy League record, running 9:17.30, the fifth fastest time in the country this year.
The relay team last qualified in 2022 and placed an impressive fourth place, aiding in Princeton’s fifth place overall finish that year.
Notably, Witt will scratch the DMR to focus on the mile, meaning the lineup is likely to consist of sophomore Colin Boler, Donaldson, Rodman, and McCormick. While Witt’s departure is a significant blow to the Tiger squad, they still have two sub-four-minute milers for the longer legs, a depth never before seen in Princeton history.
While Strand and Martin won’t be in the open mile, it is very possible that they will run the anchor legs of the DMR for their teams. The rest of the field is just as strong, with five of the top seven marks in NCAA history, including Princeton’s, established this year.
The events will be streamed on ESPN2 and ESPNU on March 14 and 15.
Luke Stockless is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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