By Christopher Hunt
It was one of those moments when anyone could feel the tension building. Princeton’s Alexis Mikaelian led a pack of five with two laps left in the 4x800, with the race as hot as the standings in the team scoring.
Dartmouth’s anchor moved first and Mikaelian refused to back down. The same way Princeton refused to relent when Columbia continued pressuring them for the team title. Then the bell sounded for the last lap, the final push, and Mikaelian found something extra.
Mikaelian left the chasers gasping in her wake, leading her team to a victory in an Ivy League record 8:43.15.
“Even going into the relay, it was easy to know that whatever we had left in our bodies had to be left on the track,” Mikaelian said. “That’s all I did.”
It was exactly how the team competition played out. Princeton led nearly the whole way until Columbia took a four-point lead after 13 events. Then Princeton gave one last push and came away with its second straight Ivy League title at the Heptagonal championships Saturday at the Armory’s New Balance Track and Field Center.
The Tigers won with 128 points. Columbia finished second, for the second straight year, with 123.
Mikaelian also started the afternoon by winning the mile in 4:54.60, using a late surge to overtake Dartmouth freshman Arianna Vailas in the stretch. Vailas placed second in 4:54.64.
“What she did was incredible,” head coach Peter Farrell said. “She’s our MVP.”
Mikaelian disagreed though. The sophomore quickly turned the focus to the Tigers’ upperclassmen.
“That’s very flattering,” she said. “I don’t know if I totally agree. I think you can make an argument for so many people on the team. I just did my part.”
Columbia had taken the lead when the Lions’ star Sharay Hale led a 1-2 finish in the 200. Hale won in 23.81 and Marvellous Iheukwumere followed in second in 24.34, putting Columbia ahead 96-92.
But then Princeton scored 22 points in the 3,000 led by seniors Ashley Higginson, who finished in 9:26.32 and Alex Banfich in second in 9:27.77.
“The Ivy League meet really has a special feel to it,” Farrell said. “You can feel it in here. This is really something that’s important to these kids and they’ll carry it with them.”
Columbia’s Hale earned the female Outstanding Performer award for the second straight year. Hale won the 400 in 53.43, claimed the 200 and then anchored the Lions’ winning 4x400 relay, which demolished the meet record in 3:39.46. Hale also broke her own meet record on Friday in the 200, clocking 23.68 in the semifinals.