The One Remaining

A week ago, the Princeton campus was swarming with people.

It was Reunions, which brings more than 20,000 people annually to the events and the tents. It's a glorious time to be Princetonian, and as TigerBlog has said before, this is very unique. There's certainly nothing approaching it at his own alma mater.

For three days, the campus swells, parking spots are at a premium and orange and black is everywhere. It's loud and crowded and an endless stream of people, all celebrating at a place that's meant so much to them.

There's every age group, from the old guard to the youngest alums to the little children who are tagging along. It's one massive wave of people.

Then there's Class Day Monday and Commencement Tuesday. They don't have the numbers that Reunions does, but it's still a jammed campus.

And then graduation ceremonies end. And then the campus gets quiet. It's eerie, actually.

TigerBlog has been around here for 30 years, and he's seen it each time. Graduation ends. The campus clears out.

It's strange.

Now it's a week out from Reunions, and graduates have dispersed all over the world. And now there's that real quiet.

The athletic year hasn't quite ended though.

There are nearly 1,000 Princeton athletes, and all but one has finished competing for the year.

The one remaining is Obiageri Amaechi, who competes in the discus throw tomorrow at the NCAA championships in Indianapolis. When she is finished with either her third or sixth throw, depending on if she advances, then the athletic year is over.

Amaechi is a sophomore who finished seventh in the event a year ago, which earned her first-team All-America honors. She is also the Ivy League champion in the event this year, and she is also the Ivy League record-holder in the event.

There are 24 athletes who have advanced to the final tomorrow - it's at 6:05 Eastern time on ESPN3 by the way - from the regionals. There will be two flights of 12 throwers who will get three attempts each, and then the top nine will get three additional throws.

Whoever has the furthest throw wins, whether it's on the first or sixth attempt.

So knowing that, where would you want to go? Last, to know exactly what you need?

Amaechi will be in the exact opposite situation. She throws first in the first flight, which will set the standard.

The top eight finishers earn first-team All-America. The next eight are second-team.

Amaechi is one of three Princeton qualifiers for the NCAAs. The other two - steeplechaser Ed Trippas and hurdler Joey Daniels - competed Wednesday and did not advance.

The steeplechase is TB's favorite track event, and Princeton certainly has a great heritage, most notably with NCAA champ and two-time Olympic finalist Donn Cabral. Trippas, just a sophomore, has two more cracks at it.

As for Daniels, his story is fascinating. When he qualified for the NCAA championships, he became the first Princeton hurdler ever to do so.

In fact, he is just the fourth Ivy League hurdler ever to reach the NCAA finals. And when was the last time an Ivy Leaguer did so?

How about 1960?

Like TB said, that's fascinating. Why would the Ivy League struggle so much to produce good hurdlers?

Daniels didn't reach the final, but he did set an Ivy League record with a 13.70. The old league record was 13.74, set in 2014 by Cornell's Max Hairston. Daniels finished in 12th place, which earns him second-team All-American.

So Amaechi throws at 6:05 tomorrow. ESPN3.

And then the athletic year is over.

It was a year that featured 15 championships, 12 of them in the Ivy League, and a host of other great moments. And, like most athletic years, it seemed to come and go in a blink.

It started with a women's soccer game in August.

It ends tomorrow with one last athlete, looking for one last All-American finish for the year.