Ashley Higginson’s victory in the 1- mile run was the start of a Princeton University avalanche at the 2010 Indoor Track and Field Heptagonal (Ivy League) Championships.
Princeton’s women were tied with Brown University after the first day of competition in the two-day meet at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., on Feb. 27-28.
First up on the second day was the women’s 1-mile run, and Higginson, the former Colts Neck High School All-American, got the Tigers rolling with her victory in a personal best time of 4:46.55.
The mark is an NCAA provisional qualifier for the junior and the fourth fastest time in meet history.
With her teammate Alex Banfich finishing second behind Higginson (4:48.91), their one-two showing put the Tigers in the lead in the team standings.
The Princeton women seized control of the meet later with a one-two-three finish in the 3,000-meter run as the Tigers used their distance running prowess to separate themselves from the rest of the field.
Higginson placed third in the 3,000 (9:343.90) after her personal best performance in the mile. The 3,000 was won by Princeton’s Reilly Kiernan (9:27.91).
Princeton’s 125 points held off Columbia (110) as the Tigers claimed the Ivy League crown.
Princeton’s men also won the team championship, giving the Tigers a sweep of the indoor championships for the first time since the 1997-98 season. The Tigers rolled up 181 points, besting runner-up Cornell (149) by 32 points.
Senior Justin Frick cleared 6-10¾ to place second in the high jump.
Frick, who is a Freehold High School graduate, also competed in the seven-event heptathlon. He finished eighth with a total of 4,423 points. Had it not been for a no height in the pole vault, Frick would have challenged for the gold medal. He did place first in the high jump (6-7½) in the heptathlon.
In Blacksburg, Va., at Virginia Tech, University of Virginia freshman Robby Andrews won a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference titles as the freshman from Manalapan continues to impress in his collegiate debut campaign.
On the first day of the competition (Feb. 26), the former high school national champion won his first ACC title by anchoring the Cavaliers’ distance medley relay team to victory in a time of 9:47.80.
Andrews ran a 4:06.57 1,600 meters. Sintayehu Taye (1,200), Kevin Anting (400) and Alex Bowman (800) ran the first three legs of the DMR for Virginia. This was only the second time that the Cavaliers won the DMR.
Andrews claimed his first individual ACC title on Feb. 27 by winning the 800- meter run in a time of 1:50.73. He was the first Virginia runner to win the conference 800 title since 2005.
Andrews’ personal best this year of 1:48.02 is an NCAA provisional mark.
The NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place on March 12-13 at Fayetteville, Ark.