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CONFERENCE RESULTS | USATF RESULTS

This year we have partnered with HepsTrack on the coverage of the Indoor Ivy League Championships. HepsTrack.com does a phenomenal job with their in-depth coverage of the Ivy League track and field scene. Last year we made an SFX episode (see above) to show you just how awesome the Heps are every year. This year should be no different.

Men’s Sprints & Hurdles:
There are fresh new faces this year at the Heptagonals as most of last year’s scorers have either graduated or are no longer running. Freshmen Malcolm Johnson (Harvard) and Carrington Akosa (Princeton) have come in with the fastest times in the 60m and 200m this year. Princeton’s John Hill is the top returner for the 60m and could win if the the freshmen falter. Princeton could have three scorers in the 60m as Dre Nelson is ranked 5th this year. Cornell’s Brailin Paulino may provide some points for the sprint group. Harvard’s Matthew Hurst provides another freshman sensation, in addition to Johnson, to provide big points in the 200m in its inaugural appearance at the Heps. But the biggest points haul in this new event could be by Brown with Ryan Kelly, Brian Pfaff and Oluwatosin Oyewole (4th, 5th and 6th fastest times this year).

Only two athletes have run under 48 seconds this year in the 400m, Yale’s Marc-Andre Alexandre (47.91) and Brown’s Kelly (47.68). Alexandre is the top returner (2nd in the 2014) and has an indoor PR of 47.45 (9th all-time), so should be considered the favorite. The rest of the scorers should include Penn’s Tom Timmins, Cornell’s Michael Smith and Tobenna Attah. A pair of freshman, Penn’s Jeff Wiseman and Brown’s Zachary Emrich could also be in the mix, but the 500m may be more likely as they are both on top of the conference standings. Top returners for the 500m are Penn’s Drew Magaha (2nd), Cornell’s Max Hairston (3rd) and Princeton’s Ray Menin (6th), but they all have not contested this distance this year. Cornell’s Cisco Olloqui, last year’s 4th place finisher, should also pick up valuable points. As usual, this event is always full of surprise entrants, which makes predictions difficult.

The sole hurdle event should be a battle between Cornell and Princeton. The top three finishers at Heps last year are back and have the top three times this year. Cornell’s Hairston, the defending champion, is now the 3rd fastest Ivy Leaguer ever (7.88). Harvard’s Jarvis Harris has run 7.96, the 10th best conference time ever, and Princeton’s Greg Caldwell has a PR of 8.00. Throw in Princeton’s Rob Mohr with a lifetime best of 7.91 and Cornell’s Wynndham Curtis, last year’s 6th place finisher, this has the making of a competitive race.

Women’s Sprints & Hurdles:
There is little change in the sprints this year as Cornell, Columbia, and Harvard should amass high points again in their battle towards the team title. Harvard has one of the best sprinters in Heptagonal history in Danielle Barbian. Already the defending champion in the 60m, she has improved this year by running the conference record of 7.41 on her home track and the 5th fastest time ever in the indoors 200m (24.11) at Boston University.

Her main competition in the 60m should come from a trio of all-time conference performers – Dartmouth’s Kaitlin Whitehorn, Columbia’s Ashley Cunningham and Akua Obeng-Akrofi. Barbian’s teammate, Ashley Collinsworth did place 2nd last year in a PR of 7.49 and should be in the mix if she is up to form.

Barbian has much stiffer competition in the 200m where Columbia’s Obeng-Akrofi and Cunningham have the 1st and 3rd best conference times this year (as well as 4th and 6th fastest all-time) and could pull off a 1-2 finish.

Cornell should pick up some points with Udeme Akpaete and Adrian Jones. Harvard could have three finalists with Barbian, Collinsworth and Autumne Franklin (who has not run a 200m this year, but was 5th last year). This promises to be an exciting photo finish race as there is little separation between the top eight times run this year.

The 400m should be dominated by Cornell’s Akpaete, who is the 5th fastest conference performer ever and is the defending champion. This year, she has run almost 0.2 seconds faster than her closest competitor, Dartmouth’s Jennifer Meech (who is also the defending 200m champion). Harvard’s Jade Miller could break up these two as she was 2nd last year, but has not run this distance this year.

The first Heptagonal Champion of the 500m may come from Princeton’s Cecilia Barowski (6th all-time), Harvard’s Miller (9th all-time), Penn’s Candace Taylor (10th all-time) and Princeton’s Kim MacKay. It is possible that none of these athletes may run this event at all. But all the schools will be attempting to add as many talented 400m or 800m runners in this event to pick up points in this new event.

Harvard’s Franklin, the 60mH defending champion and clear favorite, leads two other impressive teammates: Jackie Modesett (4th last year) and Miller. Columbia’s Iris Chijioke will attempt to break this points grab by Harvard, as she placed 3rd last year. Brown’s Rachel Van Metre should compete and will be a scorer.

Men’s Mid-Distance:
While men’s middle distance might not be experiencing any schedule changes – they’ve handled the plethora of events for years now – the entries and the races will be no less interesting than on the women’s side. In the last several years, the Heps gentlemen have put on some truly great performances in the half mile to mile range, and have successfully established the Ivy League as a middle-distance powerhouse within the NCAA. With the continuation of that tradition so far this season, expect to see a number of great races from these men this weekend.

Although no one has broken the elusive 4-minute barrier yet this season, the myriad of athletes sitting on the cusp will undoubtedly make the mile one of the hottest events of the meet. Atop the list sits Penn junior Thomas Awad with his 4:00.20 clocking at the Armory Track Invitational back in January. Awad has broken that barrier before (3:58.34 at the Penn Relays last spring), and his races so far this season indicate that he is more than capable of doing so again. A sub-4 performance may very well be what it takes to win this title as Columbia sophomore Rob Napolitano has also run 4:00.64. Add in Dartmouth junior Curtis King a second back at 4:01.45 and this race could get really interesting. Behind them are five athletes have run 4:02 so far this season, including James Randon (Yale), Joey Chapin (Dartmouth), and Brendon Fish (Columbia). Dan Nestor of Columbia is the only returner from the 2014 mile final who is in the top 20 this year, with a season's best time of 4:07.

The men’s lists show heavy overlap between the mile and the 1,000m. Fish, who is ranked 6th in the mile, has the best season performance in the 1,000m at 2:20.83. He is followed closely by freshman teammate Spencer Haik and junior Ned Willig of Brown, both at 2:21. Currently with the 4th best mark is Napolitano (2nd in the mile). Although the mile/1000m double has been done before (Nick Wade of Cornell at the 2013 Indoor Heps at Harvard, finished 2nd in both), it is fairly unlikely we will see it again this year. Where the Columbia team decides to place Fish and Napolitano will have a huge impact on how this race plays out, but no matter who enters it will be highly competitive for sure. Look for Brown senior Henry Tufnell and Princeton freshman Garret O’Toole to potentially be in the mix of things as well come this weekend.

In the 800m, two breakout performances earlier in the season indicate that the Ivy League may be in for an epic showdown. While Columbia senior Connor Claflin ran an impressive 1:48.67 at the BU Valentine Invitational two weeks ago (6th all-time in the Ivy-League), Cornell sophomore James Gowans had his own outstanding run of 1:49.78 at the Spire Invitational out in Ohio on the same day. With these two gentlemen hot off the PR train, the final on Sunday could be one of the highlights of the meet. If Tufnell decides to forgo the 1,000m, his 1:50.05 seasons’ best performance (and 1:47.99 lifetime PR) will only deepen an already incredibly deep field. Also throwing their hats in the ring could be Conner Reck (Harvard), Bradley Paternostro (Princeton), and Jonas Aranda (Harvard) – all of whom have run 1:50 so far this season.

Women’s Mid-Distance:
The introduction of the women’s 1,000m and Distance Medley Relay makes the women’s middle distance portion of the meet much more substantial and inevitably more complicated. With three individual events (800m, 1,000m, and mile – all of which include prelims as well as finals) and two relays (DMR and 4x800m), teams will have their work cut out for them in terms of event coverage. As always, a tight schedule makes it difficult to handle multiple events, but rest assured, doubling and even tripling can and will take place.

For the majority of the season, Harvard senior Erika Veidis sat atop the 800m list with her 2:05.80 winning performance at the BU Terrier Invite. But last week at the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame, Princeton junior Cecilia Barowski blasted a 2:05.00 to overtake the top spot. Two years ago, Veidis stormed to victory in the 800m in front of the home crowd, and after a runner-up finish a year ago to recent Dartmouth grad Megan Krumpoch, many expected her to reclaim her title. Barowski’s performance, now 5th all-time in the Ivy League and 10th in the NCAA, seriously shakes things up. On top of that, two other athletes have dipped below 2:10 so far this season: fellow Harvard senior and 800m first-timer Gabrielle Scott and recently burst-on-the-scene Penn sophomore Carey Celata. If all these ladies wind up entering, the Women’s 800m final could very well be the race of the meet.

As for the 1,000m, Veidis remains the top seed by 2 seconds heading into this weekend with her season’s best time of 2:46.71. Considering the Harvard women are the favorites to take the team title, entering her there may be their best chance at maximizing points. However, should she decide to run the 800m instead, the 1,000m will be wide open. The chance to be the first ever Women’s 1,000m Heps Champion could draw in a big crowd. If Celata decides to forgo the half, she could find herself competing for the win against fellow sophomore Taylor Worthy of Brown. Both have gone below 2:50 this season. Behind them a remarkable 6 other women have run between 2:50.10 and 2:50.83: Molly Renfer (Harvard), Emily Waligurski (Yale), Clare Peabody (Brown), Sarah Gillespie (Harvard), Zoe Sims (Princeton), and Kristen Niedrach (Cornell). With such an incredibly deep field, great things can be expected in this women’s event debut.

And in the mile, the graduation of Dartmouth sensation Abbey D’Agostino leaves the title up for grabs for the first time in years. D’Agostino’s former teammate and training partner junior Dana Giordano may just be up for the task. As the defending Outdoor 1,500m Champion and current conference leader (4:41.12), Giordano is in great position to compete for another Heps title. A win is anything but certain, though, as Columbia junior Olivia Sadler’s season best time is a only a half-second back (4:41.43). While those two dual it out up front, competition for coveted podium spots and, more importantly, team points, will remain fierce with Kira Garry (Yale), Paige Kouba (Harvard), Kaitlin Hanss (Princeton), and Natalie Schudrowitz (Brown) all potentially in the mix.

Men’s Distance:
The men’s distance events should provide some spectacular performances this weekend. Less-than-ideal weather conditions in the Northeast this winter has made travel difficult to say the least, and the effects have been felt by the Heps Nation. The loss of opportunities for some athletes to compete in high-caliber races at big invitationals earlier in the season combined with the fact that this weekend is the deadline for NCAA qualifiers could provide enough incentive to make these distance races really hot.

Of course, points will still be the number one priority this weekend (after all, this is the Heps), but on a track as fast as Harvard’s, it may just be possible to kill two birds with one stone.

After the madness that was the men’s indoor 3,000m last year at Dartmouth (Columbia sophomore Tait Rutherford won at out of the ‘slow’ heat due a ridiculously tactical and sluggish first mile in the ‘fast’ heat), all signs point to this year’s 3,000m being a fast and honest race. Penn junior Thomas Awad won the ‘fast’ heat last year but only ended up taking 3rd overall, so he could be looking for some serious redemption this year. Although his best time of 7:54.81 is the best in the League by over 5 seconds, expect the competition for this title to be fierce. Dartmouth juniors Curtis King and Joey Chapin have both run 8:01 this season, and together they could help make the pace quick. Look for Brown senior Jordan Mann and Rutherford, who has dropped his PR by 13 seconds since his surprise title winning run a year ago, to also be in the mix of things.

And in the 5000m, the graduation of a number of big performers has left the event relatively open this year. Analyzing entries and making predictions is also further complicated when you consider the fact that in recent years, a number of athletes have debuted at this distance at the Heps. Mann is the conference leader heading into this weekend by almost 7 seconds with his career best 14:10.43 set two weeks ago at the Iowa State Classic. Behind him are fellow seniors Will Geiken of Harvard and Paul Ross of Columbia and sophomore Nathaniel Adams of Dartmouth. Columbia senior Ben Eversole, who is currently sitting in 5th on the descending order list, is the top returning athlete from last year’s race where he finished 12th. Regardless of who shows up in this race though, as the meet’s final individual track event, you can expect the athletes to put on a show and lay it on the line for their teams.

Women’s Distance:
For the better part of three years, the face of Ivy League women’s distance running has been that of recent Dartmouth grad and newly-signed New Balance athlete Abbey D’Agostino. Yes, the graduation of the 7-time NCAA title holder has meant the end of an era, but the resurgence of Ivy women’s distance running that she was a part of is far from over. Despite the loss of senior talent in 2014, the League has maintained a high level of competition, driven by both new and returning athletes. Even with the schedule changes (3,000m now on Saturday and the 5,000m now on Sunday), expect to see some big performances on both days from the distance ladies this upcoming weekend.

In the 3,000m, one athlete has established herself as the clear favorite – Dartmouth junior Dana Giordano. She won the Invitational 3,000m at the BU Terrier Invite a month ago in dominating fashion, running a huge PR of 9:07.28 in the process. That performance, now 3rd all-time in the Ivy League, is the 11th best in the NCAA so far this season and is well-within that coveted Sweet 16. As the champion from a year ago on her home track, Giordano is more than ready to defend her title. The race for second place is shaping up to be a great one indeed with a number of breakthrough performances significantly increasing the depth of the League. With season best marks below 9:30, anticipate seeing Yale senior Kira Garry, Princeton sophomore Megan Curham, Cornell sophomore Taylor Spillane, and Cornell junior Caroline Keller in the hunt for those other top spots. And if one of them should falter on Saturday, look for any one of the additional 7 women who have run between 9:30.39 and 9:32.86 this season to step up and score points for their team. Also keep an eye on Princeton junior Emily de la Bruyere. Although she has flown under the radar so far this season, she came up big at last year’s Indoor Heps scoring in both the mile and the 3,000m and can’t be counted out.

The 5,000m, the meet’s last individual track event, could offer a bit more suspense in terms of who will take home the title. Curham, the highest returning finisher from the race a year ago, is currently sitting atop the list with her 16:24.53 season’s best time. After a string of runner-up finishes her freshman year, Curham earned her first Heps title this past fall at the Cross Country Championships. While those credentials do make her the favorite heading into this weekend, she will have her hands full holding off several highly capable challengers. Garry and Kellner have been consistent all season, setting PR’s at multiple distances, and are more than ready to compete for top honors. Joining them in the pack of contenders will be Harvard senior Whitney Thornburg, Columbia junior Leila Mantilla, and Yale junior Elizabeth McDonald.




Relays:
It’s time again— to put hearts on the line, tired legs to the test, and batons in the hands of quartets in pursuit of winning relay titles at the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track & Field Championships.

On the men’s side, Brown hopes to shatter the 4×4 meet record of 3:12.83 set in 2011. The Brown Bears relay team consisting of Ryan Kelly, Ben Ostrowski, Zachery Emrich and Oluwatosin Oyewole posted a 3:11.57 this season, demolishing their 2011 school record by nearly three seconds. If Brown has a repeat performance they will rank among the top ten meet leaders in this event— they will need crowd support, strategic legs and clean exchanges to pull off this final event of the two-day meet.

Princeton’s 4×8 relay team goes into the championships with an 11 second margin over Penn in 7:25.07. Tigers Luke Brahm, Noah Kauppila, Garrett O’Toole and Bradley Paternostro will be chasing a 32 year old meet record of 7:26.75, which was set at Yale’s Coxe Cage in 1983. The second place chase for Penn and Harvard will follow.

Columbia’s distance medley team will pursue Dartmouth’s 9:43.86 set in 1983. Columbia’s men Brendon Fish, Kevin Boyd, Connor Claflin and Rob Napolitano have run a 9:33.54 in the event this year, which places them among the all-meet top ten performances. The Lions have a shot of extending their record to four overall victories in the DMR at these championships.

For the women, Cornell’s 4×4 is predicted to dominate the field of competitors and secure a top four performance in Ivy League history. The foursome, Taysia Radoslav, Zena Kolliesuah, Katie Woodford and Udeme Akpaete, have run 3:38.21 in the event. Harvard, Dartmouth and Princeton will duke it out for the second place spot on the podium.

Yale and Princeton’s top squads will go head-to-head for the 4×8 crown. Both teams have tied in the event this season but only one will walk away with the championship title. Bulldogs Grace Brittan, Frances Schmiede, Emily Waligurski and Shannon Mconnell; and Tigers Rachael Chacko, Kaitlin Hanss, Ashley Forte and Zoe Sims will have their work cut out for them.

For the first time in conference history the women’s DMR will be contested at the championships. The battle for second place at the meet has now widened as teams will be able to pick up extra points from this event. Molly Renfer, Autumne Franklin, Erika Veidis and Paige Kouba of Harvard have set the tone for the race running 11:18.73. Princeton, Cornell and Brown trail behind but will make meet history.

Men’s Verticals:
This year’s high jump competition for the men will feature many new faces, with Jeremy Birck (Dartmouth) as the only returning scorer from last year. His career best jump came at last year’s iHeps. Birck is in a five-way tie for sixth right now in the rankings, the pack only 4” off of the leader Stephen Afadapa (Cornell). Both Cornell and Penn have three jumpers in the top six, with Princeton and Harvard hoping to snag some points in what will surely be a close competition.

And let’s not forget that 2015 is being called the Year of the Vault. The Heps all-time record in the men’s pole vault has been crushed this season – twice! Princeton’s Adam Bragg, currently ranked second, was the first to break the record with his career-best 17’ 9”. Weeks later, Cornell’s Grant Sisserson, 2014 runner-up, bested that by 2.25”. The two are now eleventh and seventeenth in the nation. Almost a foot separates them from the next mark, by Keith Rayburn (Cornell). In the fight for the podium, Cornell and Princeton each have three vaulters within points range. Returner Brendan Sullivan (Yale) and Max Coscullela (Dartmouth) round out the top eight of the field going into a competition that could again rewrite the record book. Women’s Verticals:
The women’s high jump 2014 champion, Morayo Akande of Brown, returns to the competition this year currently tied for fourth in what has proven to be a very close season. The field will see three other returning scorers from 2014 in Inka Busack (Princeton), Raegan Nizdil (Harvard) and Taylor Morgan (Princeton). The jumper to watch will be Dartmouth’s Kaitlin Whitehorn, the 2013 champion whose career-best performance of 5-10.75 at the BU Valentine Invitational leads the conference right now by 2.75”. Teammate Allison Frantz, currently tied for second with Busack at 5-08, could help the Dartmouth presence on the podium.

In the pole vault, Allison Harris (Princeton) is the top returning scorer after placing second last year. So far this season, only Eve Bishop of Cornell has outperformed her with a career-best mark of 13-01.5 that leads the field by 6” and makes it to number three Heps all-time. The other returning scorer is Stephanie Brown (Dartmouth), who is in a five-way tie for fourth at 11-09.75. Cornell and Dartmouth each stand to gain some major points in this event, as each school has three jumpers in the top eight. No doubt it will be a close competition for the top six. Men’s Horizontals:
The men’s long jump competition will certainly be one to watch. Going into the meet, less than a foot separates the top eight marks so far this season. We will see just one returning scorer from 2014 – Jake Scinto of Princeton. He was fourth last year but currently stands second with an indoor PR, just 0.5” shy of leader Ryan Hynes (Cornell). Hynes has reached a career best this year and no doubt has his eyes on the crown. Scinto and Hynes each are joined by two teammates in the top eight. Expect a battle between Cornell and Princeton for big points. Nkosi Jones (Brown) has a good shot at breaking up the packs as he stands fifth with an indoor PR.

In the triple jump, Princeton freshman Lane Russell leads the field by just under 4”. Teammate and returning scorer Nana Owusu-Byantekyi is also poised for big points, currently in third. If he gets close to his career PR of 15.50 m (2013 indoor), he could be in contention for the title. Efe Uwaifo (Harvard), second last year, is the top returning scorer. He currently ranks second, a close 0.75” ahead of Owusu-Byantekyi. Brown’s Taylor Alarcon also sits within striking distance of the top spots. He separates the top four from the rest of the field by over a foot. Several teams have a shot at points here, with just Princeton and Penn having more than one jumper in the top eight. Women’s Horizontals:
Nadia Eke of Columbia seeks to defend her titles in both the long jump and triple jump. She currently holds the lead in the season rankings in both events with an indoor PR in the long jump (19-00.75) and a career best (third Heps all-time) in the triple jump (43-02.5). Her teammates Anna Williams and Adefunke Sonaike, the only other returning scorers from 2014, will also be looking to score points in both events, continuing a streak of strong Columbia presence in the horizontal jumps.

Standing between Eke and Williams right now on the long jump performance list are Amaris Kobolak of Penn with an indoor PR (18-09.75) and Sara Ronde of Princeton with a career best (18-07.25). Penn freshman teammate Emily Jiang could be in scoring position as well, taking some big points for Penn from the event.

In the triple jump, Eke leads the field by over 3.5’ with a mark that stands sixth in the nation. Still, look for Dartmouth’s Molly Shapiro to break up the Columbia top three, as she has seen huge career bests this season (39-07.75). O’Sha Williams (Brown – 38-06.75) and Gaynelle Boham (Cornell – 38-06.25) are not far behind, each with PR performances as well. Men’s Throws:
We will be seeing a lot of Cornell red and Princeton orange/black on the throwing podium this weekend as both teams have three men that can score well in either one of these events. The defending champs are back and both are looking to extend their reigns for another season.

Stephen Mozia, who rewrote the throwing record books last year, has been consistently throwing further than 60 feet in the shot put during this indoor season. His season’s best of 63-06 is better than what he was throwing at this time last year, but it isn’t as close to his conference record of 68-02 ¼ as he would like. Only one other athlete has joined Mozia beyond the 60 foot mark in this event so far this season – Princeton’s Chris Cook, who threw 60-02 at Penn State to beat Mozia.

Mozia’s teammate Bryan Rhodes is sitting at the top of the weight throw rankings with 67-05 ½ (the #10 best thrower all-time). Rhodes will need to keep an eye on his teammate Rudy Winkler, who has been steadily improving his weight performance in each meet he has competed in this indoor season. Winkler beat Rhodes earlier this season at the Spire D1 Invitational, where Winkler threw his season’s best of 65-10 ½. Add in Mozia (who’s 3rd in the conference with 64-05), and Cornell could be earning a valuable 24 points in this event alone.

Princeton could earn up to 18 points in the shot put as they have throwing trio who can make the podium: Cook, Mitchel Charles, and Scott Rushton. Rushton finished 3rd at the 2014 Indoor Heps, while rookie Charles wants to make a good impact at his first Heps. Princeton does not have anyone in the weight throw in scoring contention so they will need to finish well to keep up with the Big Red. If Mozia has another off Indoor Heps, one of these Tigers could slip in for the top spot.

There are a few other men who could break up the Cornell and Princeton battle on the podium. In previous years, the Harvard men had been rather dominant in the throws as they had two to four athletes score in each event. This year, they will have to rely on two athletes only. Ben Glauser, a former Indoor Heps champion in both the shot put and weight throw, hasn’t competed since the end of January but he joins Mozia as the only other athlete who is in the top 6 in both events. Josh Whitener has potential to break up a Cornell 1-2-3 in the weight throw, but he would need a personal best in order to do so. Meanwhile, Brown has a strong force with Courtland Clavette (shot put, 6th last year), Matthew O’Hara (weight throw), and Phuong Truong (weight throw). Penn hopes to break into the scoring positions with either Sam Mattis or Marcus LaRoche. Women’s Throws:
The women’s throwing event favorites are two women who have dominated their respective events this season – Harvard’s Nikki Okwelogu and Princeton’s Julia Ratcliffe. They both could easily win their events with their first throw of the competition.

Over the course of this past season, Okwelogu has improved her indoor shot put best from 50-02.75 (which won her the 2014 Indoor Heps title) to 54-02, a new Ivy League record and the 14th best throw in the country this season. She’s undefeated on the season and is aiming to continue that winning streak on her home oval. The conference meet mark (51-09.75 set in 2011 by Brown’s Brynn Smith) could easily fall on her first throw of the meet.

Meanwhile, Ratcliffe is looking for her first indoor throwing title after finishing as the weight throw runner-up for the last two years. Ratcliffe has the second best throw in conference history, 65-05.5, which she set in her first indoor meet in December 2014. She’s been consistently throwing over 63 feet this season – in comparison, no one else in the conference this season has thrown further than 56 feet.

Yale’s Karleh Wilson and Brown’s Michelle Bazile are the only two women who are in the top 6 in both throwing events. Wilson is looking to improve upon her 2014 Indoor Heps performances (3rd in the shot put, 14th in the weight throw). Her season’s best have her in good standing – #2 in the shot put and #3 in the weight throw (behind Ratcliffe and Harvard’s Taylor DuPont). Bazile is right behind Wilson in the standings. Bazile may only be a freshman, but she has been part of a strong Brown throwing trio with Josie Natrasevschi and Kebbeh Darpolor.

Multis:
There are a lot of young faces in the season event listings for the heptathlon, but we expect the experience to win out in the end. Brown’s Peter Rhodes is back and looking to defend his Indoor Heps crown. Based on the event standings, he is in good shape. His season’s best of 5,221 points is almost 200 points ahead of the next athlete, Cornell’s Austin Jamerson. Jamerson finished 5th in this event last year. Nico Robinson of Dartmouth is the only other 2014 returner who has competed in 2015, and he is 3rd in the event listings going into iHeps. Rhodes’ biggest competition is from an athlete who has yet to contest a heptathlon this year – Princeton’s Stephen Soerens, who finished as the runner up to Rhodes at Indoor Heps last year. We would be surprised to not see his name on the heptathlon entry lists on Friday evening.

There is going to be a new champion for the pentathlon as four-time winner Janae Dunchack has graduated. The women’s multi battle is going to focus on Princeton’s Taylor Morgan and Harvard’s Madison Hansen. Morgan has the top score going into Indoor Heps, as her 3,777 score from the Penn State National Invitational ranks as the 10th best all-time. But Hansen is the top returner from last year, with her 2014 Indoor Heps mark of 3,791 points being the 7th best all-time. Dartmouth freshman Allison Frantz is looking to extend Dartmouth’s five-year winning streak in this event as she holds the #2 season’s best performance going into the meet. Based on the performance listings, Harvard could get a huge points boost as they have three athletes in the scoring positions (Hansen, Allison Morrison, Jackie Modesett), while Princeton has two (Morgan, Kerry Krause).