Courtesy: Princeton Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. (4/5/09) – Senior Alex Pessala set a Princeton school record in the hammer throw with a 67.29, which ranks as the second best throw in Ivy League history. The mark is also the second best throw in the nation this season.

Two Tigers qualified for the NCAA Regional, bringing Princeton’s total to nine. Senior Michael Maag qualified in the 1500-meter run after a winning time of 3:46.53, and freshman Trevor VanAckeren had a qualifying time of 9:02.84 in the steeplechase. They join: George Abyad, Chad Faulkner, Joel Karacozoff, Craig Pearce, Alex Pessala, Eric Plummer, David Slovenski.

Sophomore Mike Eddy won the 400-meter dash crossing the tape at 47.51. Freshman Ricky Kearney and junior Brian Li-A-Ping also finished among the top-10 runners with times of 49.24 and 49.55, respectively. Eddy went on to set a personal best in the 200-meter dash at 22.11, shaving .17 seconds off his previous time.

Senior Chris Vasich took second place in the 110-meter hurdles as he raced to the finish line in 15.03. Teammate Adam Thayer was behind him with a third-place time of 15.25.

In the 400-meter hurdles, junior Tom Zozokos and senior Ian Thomson found themselves among the top three. Zozokos grabbed second place with a time of 54.35 with Thomson coming in just .33 seconds behind for third place. Thomson’s time of 54.58 is a season best.

Junior Ben White and senior Collin Plummer finished second and third in the 800-meter run. White clocked in at 1:54.13 and Plummer at 1:54.87. Junior Jordan Hill and senior Mark Kowal also placed in the top-10 in the event.

Junior Tim Branigan was third in the 10,000-meter run as he covered the course in 30:53.01

On top of Pessala’s amazing throw in the hammer throw, teammate Craig Pearce placed third with a season-best toss of 57.75 and Joel Karacozoff reached sixth place.

Sophomore George Abyad won the shot put with a throw of 15.82. Freshman Patrick Park followed up with a third-place throw of 15.39, a season-best. Abyad and Karacozoff both went on to finished fourth and fifth in the discus.

Another winner was junior Ian Fox in the high jump. Fox cleared 2.04 meters for the win, his best mark of 2009.

The men’s team will be back in action at Weaver Stadium on Saturday, April 11 when it hosts the Princeton Quad.

.