PU men’s track ready for biggest meet of season

Tigers will host Heptagonals on Saturday and Sunday

By: Justin Feil
PHILADELPHIA — In the midst of two of the highest profile meets in the country, the Princeton University men’s track and field team is keeping its focus squarely on the Heptagonals, which it will host Friday and Saturday at Weaver Stadium.
   The Tigers held many of their top performers back from the Penn Relays that ran Thursday through Saturday at Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. And many of the Princeton athletes may rest the week after Heptagonals at the Princeton Invitational, which will be highlighted by the Golden Spike Tour that will include the world’s fastest woman, Marion Jones.
   "We totally discounted the Penn Relays," said PU head coach Fred Samara, whose team’s relay highlight was an individual effort from freshman Josh McCaughey who had a hammer throw of 202 feet, 8 inches — good for sixth against the nation’s top throwers and good for second best in school history. "I would say Heps is going to be a spectacular meet. The level of competition in the league is some of the highest ever.
   "Penn has a tremendous team, one of their best ever. They’re scoring in almost every event. They have their share of superstars. As usual, they have a bunch of sprinters. We need our sprinters to come in and balance it out. It is a battleground, but every event is. You really have to score in all of them."
   Samara would know. He’s looking to guide the Tigers to a fourth consecutive outdoor Heps track and field championship. His work won’t end Saturday, however, as he will be helping to run meets at Weaver Stadium the next two meets. Princeton will host the IC4A Championships May 20, the week after the Golden Spike Tour visits Weaver for the first time ever.
   "There’s never been anything like it," Samara said. "I think it’s going to be a great three weeks in a row of track. There’s three different types of meets. Heps is a fantastic team meet and you’ll see all the team spirit. The Golden Spike is right in the middle of the Princeton Invitational and it’s going to have gold and silver medalists from the Olympics there. Then, we have the IC4As which is the biggest and oldest in the country."
   But first things first. Princeton will gear up for Heps with their same high standards and a bit of insecurity with injuries that have the team 80 percent healthy, according to Samara. The Tigers know that they will be without Dennis Norman, who is attending the Seattle Seahawks mini-camp the same weekend after being taken in the seventh round of the NFL draft.
   "Losing Dennis Norman was a great blow to the team," said Samara, who focuses on the field events while assistant Mike Brady does distance events and Marc Anderson coaches sprints. "He’s the two-time defending champion in discus. He’s almost guaranteed to be second in shot if he gets a mark. It’s tough to throw 18 points away. We have to have someone make that up."
   McCaughey, for one, will help. He’s almost a lock in the hammer. Princeton’s other top individuals — Scott Denbo (shot put), John Jessup (pole vault), Liam Morton (javelin), Ryan Smith (800), Tora Harris (high jump) and Paul Morrison (5,000) — could all pick up 10 points for wins. But it’s not that easy. Denbo has an ailing hand, Jessup is fighting a strained hamstring and Morrison is coming off a knee injury that is a threat to flare up at any time.
   "When you look at our team, there’s a good side and a bad side," Samara said. "Tora, Paul Morrison, Denbo, Jessup, Ryan Smith, those guys are top guys in the country. You expect that they can win, but you win the league meet with depth.
   "Overall, losing (graduated sprinter) John Mack was a big blow. He was the best 200 and quarter-miler we’ve had in a long time. Mike and Mark and I think we have some aces in the hole. We’ll let them speak for themselves at the meet."
   The following week, it will be Marion Jones, a woman who has established herself already by winning three Olympic gold medals in Sydney, who will have all eyes on her as she competes in the 100-meter dash. Jones, who wowed the Penn Relays crowd by anchoring the United States’ winning 4×400 team will compete for the first time ever at Princeton, she confirmed at a Penn Relays press conference.
   "The field for the Golden Spike will be pretty outstanding," said Samara of the meet that will be broadcast later on ESPN. "The difference between running these meets is the logistics when you have world-class athletes. She brings her people and you have to assign people to her. You have to run the meet differently with it being on TV. Our track got repainted and it looks brand new. It’s going to look great on TV. It’s going to be a great meet."
   Samara hopes he can say the same of the Heptagonals after next weekend. They saw the superstars at the Penn Relays last weekend. They’ll see them again in two weeks. In between, it’s time for the Princeton track and field team to shine.