Courtesy: Tom ConnollyITHACA, N.Y. (2/25/12) - The Princeton men's track and field team won its third straight indoor Heptagonal Championship, as the Tigers finished eight points ahead of Cornell at the 2012 Ivy League Heptagonal Championships in Ithaca.
The Tigers earned 184 points while the host school accumulated 176. Columbia was far back in third place with 70 points followed by Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn and Yale.
Princeton would win six events on the final day (triple jump, 400, 500, 800, 1k and 5k).
Sophomore Damon McLean won the triple jump to get the field events started on the right foot on Day 2. McLean reached 15.12 (49-7.25) on his fifth attempted. He reached 15 meters on two other attempts, a mark no other competitor would reach. Freshman Nana Owusu-Nyanteky finished fourth in his first Heps jumping to 14.52 (47-7.75). The Tigers would get 14 points in the event.
Princeton would get the most points from the 5,000, 22 total. Senior Donn Cabral won his second straight indoor 5k title. He ran 14:23.67. Sophomore Chris Bendtsen was second at 14:28.10 while classmate Jon Vitez was fourth at 14:29.52.
The Tigers won the 1,000 for the second straight season with senior Trevor Van Ackeren claiming the crown. Van Ackeren ran 2:26.09 as he outkicked Columbia in a tight race down the stretch. Freshman Bradley Paternostro picked up a point with a sixth-place finish of 2:28.40.
Van Ackeren finished third in the mile with senior Joe Stilin taking second. Stilin ran a 4:22.25 with Van Ackeren on his heels at 4:22.38.
Junior Peter Callahan won the 800 crossing the line at 1:49.72, setting a Barton Hall record. He was the only runner to clock in under 1:50. Sophomore Michael Williams was fourth with a PR of 1:51.73, as the Tigers accumulated 14 points in the event.
Junior Russell Dinkins, who won the 800 last year, would find his stride in the 500 as well. Dinkins won the 500 at 1:02.72, the only competitor to finish under 1:03.
Sophomore Tom Hopkins won the 400 as he made the lap in 48.33. Senior Ricky Kearney was sixth at 50.08.
In the relays, Princeton earned a second-place finish and two third-place finishes. The Tigers were second in the distance medley relay. Sophomore Alejandro Arroyo Yamin, senior Nilan Schnure, Van Ackeren and Callahan passed the baton in 9:54.11.
Freshman Connor Martin, Stilin, Paternostro and Williams ran the 4x8 in 7:36.23 for third place. The 4x4 of Kearney, Dinkins, Hopkins and freshman Dan McCord finished the relay in 3:19.43.
Junior Richard Sheldon was third in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.18 and freshman Robert Mohr was right behind at 8.24 for fourth place. Sheldon would also finish fourth in the heptathlon with 5,004 points.
Senior Patrick Park was fourth in the shot put. He threw to 17.38 (57-00.25) on his second attempt to earn four points for Princeton.
Sophomore Omar Jarrett earned a point in the high jump as he cleared 2.00 (6-6.75) to finish in sixth place.
