The men’s and women’s track and field teams kicked off their outdoor seasons on Saturday in Philadelphia. Hosted by the University of Pennsylvania and featuring seven neighboring schools, the Penn Challenge saw Princeton win six events in the men’s competition and three in the women’s, with personal bests across the board.
“We had a great first meet,” men’s Head Coach Jason Vigilante told The Daily Princetonian. “Anytime you can get sunshine and relatively warm weather in March for an outdoor track meet, we feel really fortunate.”
And although the Penn Challenge felt “kind of like a glorified training opportunity” according to women’s track and field Head Coach Michelle Eisenreich, it marks the beginning of a potentially historic season in Princeton track and field.
A triple crown occurs when a team wins all three championships — cross country and both indoor and outdoor track and field — in the same season. Following their Ivy League sweeps in cross country and indoor track and field, the Tigers are eyeing a possible triple crown for both the men’s and women’s teams, which has only been done once in history — by the Tigers in 2011.
“When cross country won their championship in the fall and set the team on course to go for a triple crown, I think that fired everybody up,” Eisenreich told the ‘Prince.’ “It’s only been done three times in Ivy League history on the women’s side, and so this would be huge, it would just be one more addition to an already historic season.”
On the men’s side, Princeton has recently dominated this field of athletics, winning not just nine outdoor titles since 2010 but an incredible seven triple crowns in that same period. The team is looking to win consecutive triple crowns for the third time in their history.
“Cross country, we got that done, and we beat a great Harvard squad, and we had the largest margin of victory at the Ivy League indoor championship,” Vigilante said. “And then for this one, the outdoor meet, it’s exciting for us, because it’s potentially the second triple crown in a row.”
On the other hand, the women’s team is seeking revenge for last year, when they lost the outdoor title to their rival Penn by a heart-breaking half-point difference at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship (Heps). The women have not won Outdoor Heps since 2011, also the last time they won the triple crown. This season already marks a significant comeback, having won their first cross country title since 2015 and their first indoor title since 2011.
“It’s been a big, big push to try to get over the hump,” Eisenreich noted. “Last year, having gotten so close within a half point of winning it outdoors, it was a bit of a heartbreaker, but also at the same time, a huge motivator, and the team came back, really on a mission to make sure that we accomplish our goal of winning a championship.”
The women’s first victory on Saturday came in the 100-meter dash, where junior sprinter Maisha Atkinson set a new personal record of 11.90 seconds, defeating Penn State’s Lauren Princz by a full tenth of a second. It was also first-year Jana Ter Wee’s outdoor collegiate debut, an exciting moment as she won her first-ever event, the shot put.
“It was my first-ever hammer meet, and I was very happy with the technique that I produced during the meet,” Ter Wee wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Our Penn Challenge meet performance makes me very excited for this outdoor season.”
The Tigers also won the women’s 4x400 meters relay, with senior Adelaide Asante, sophomore Shantell Kwofie, senior Lauren Harris, and Atkinson sharing the baton in a 3:50.5 finish. Kwofie also displayed her versatility at the meet, recording her personal best in the javelin throw while finishing second in the 400 meters hurdles.
“All the meets leading up [to Heps] are opportunities for us to continue to grow and continue to improve, both individually and as a team,” Eisenreich said. “We really look forward to, you know, opportunities to express our strengths.”
On the men’s side, junior Casey Helm also showed his talent in multiple events, winning both the discus throw and the shot put, the former of which was a new personal record and one of the best marks in the country. On Tuesday, Helm was named the Ivy League Men’s Athlete of the Week.
“It was great to be back outside and compete,” Helm wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Overall, I was happy with the weekend; it was a great start to the season.”
The Tigers absolutely dominated the men’s 100-meter dash, claiming all of the first four positions: first-year Jadon Spain in first (10.53), sophomore Zach Della Rocca in second (10.68), sophomore Charles Sexton in third (10.77), and first-year Paul Kuhner in fourth (10.90).
“It was great to see Della Rocca and Charlie Sexton compete outdoors,” Vigilante commented. “They missed the indoor season, so I was very happy with the start of the season.”
Princeton followed suit by sweeping the first three places in the men’s 200-meter dash: junior Easton Tan (21.71), sophomore Kavon Miller (21.80), and first-year Karl Dietz (22.02). Finally, first-year Avery Keith narrowly edged out his teammate, sophomore Christian Groendyk, by 0.24 seconds in the 3000 meters steeplechase.
“You know, it’s the first meet of the year … we try to have a whole season of build up to a great performance at the Ivy League Championships,” Vigilante said. “So I think we had a great start, but it’s keeping everybody healthy and focused throughout the whole year, and then it all happens on one weekend — the championship.”
The Tigers will have another trip to the Monmouth Season Opener this weekend, before hosting the Sam Howell Invitational on Saturday, April 5. Every meet will be an opportunity for the Orange and Black to build towards potentially reclaiming their 2011 glory, when both teams won the triple crown.
Bryant Figueroa is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince’.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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