Meet Central

PRINCETON, N.J. (11/13/12) – The Princeton men cross country team aims to for another high finish as the Tigers compete in the 2012 NCAA Championship on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Princeton will be making its third consecutive team appearance at the NCAAs and 13th overall. The Tigers had the best finish in program history in 2010, placing 12th. Last year the squad finished 19th.

Princeton is ranked No. 23 in the final regular-season USTFCCCA national poll. The team has been ranked all season, earning it's highest ranking in week five, as they came in at 11th.

The 2012 Heps champion and runner-up juniors Chris Bendtsen and Alejandro Arroyo Yamin should lead the Tiger pack in Louisville. Bendtsen was third at Regionals, while Arroyo Yamin. Junior Tyler Udland has been nipping at their heels, finishing fourth overall at Heps and sixth at Regionals. Battle for the final two scoring spots will be veterans senior Michael Franklin, junior Jonathan Vitez and a trio of sophomores. Franklin was Princeton's No. 4 at Regionals, while Vitez has been a steady contributer as the No. 4 and 5 at Heps and Regionals. Sophomores Eddie Owens, Matt McDonald and Sam Pons could also challenge. Owens was a scorer for Princeton at last year's NCAA Championship, while Pons was sixth.

The 10k race will be held at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. The race will begin at approximately 1:15 p.m. A live webcast of the championships will be broadcast from 12-1:30 p.m., on NCAA.com.

Princeton will also send a contingent to the IC4A Championship at Van Cortlandt Park in New York. The 5-mile race is scheduled for an 11 a.m., start. The Tigers are the defending IC4A champions. Joe Stilin '12 won the race last year as all five scorers finished in the top 20, averaging 16 seconds better than the next fastest team.