Right On Track

It's June, and Princeton athletes are still competing. 

The athletic year began back in August with women's soccer. It ends in June with the upcoming NCAA track and field championships, which will begin in 10 days in Eugene, Ore. 

Pia Beaulieu didn't get to compete in August and won't be able to compete in June. Still, what she did in between is nothing short of extraordinary; hopefully, she can take a great deal of consolation in what she did accomplish. 

Beaulieu, back in August, was hoping to get back on the soccer field as quickly as she could after stress fractures in both of her sins. Not to spoil the story if you want to read it HERE, but she did make it back in dramatic fashion and then went on to earn second-team All-Ivy honors. 

She also made it to the end of May, where she did something she would never have guessed was remotely on the horizon for her. Here is the context:  

Back on April 4, Beaulieu ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the first time in her life. It came at the Sam Howell Invitational at Weaver Track and Field Stadium. Despite being a novice, she won the race, in a time of 10:30.86. 

The second time she ran the event was two weeks later, at a meet at Wake Forest. This time, she ran 10:20.79. Next up was the Penn Relays; this time her time was 10:02.39. 

The fourth time was at the Ivy League Heptagonal championships, where she won the steeplechase in a time of 10:01.99. That's a wild trajectory, no? 

Wait. It gets better. 

This past weekend, Beaulieu ran at the NCAA Eastern regional at the University of Kentucky. She didn't win her heat. She just missed out on qualifying by one spot for the NCAA finals in Eugene in two weeks. 

What she did, though, was extraordinary. Her time was 9:52.54. In less than two months, she went from never having run the race to cutting more than 38 seconds off her time. Oh, and she set the Princeton program record in the process.

Considering how many great steeplechasers Princeton has had, especially Ashley Higginson and Lizzie Bird, graduating with the school record is impressive. Considering it was her fifth time running it? That's just "wow." In what universe could Beaulieu have imagined that back in August? 

It would have been a better story had she not finished one spot away from moving onto Eugene, but still. TigerBlog thinks this is one of the more amazing stories at Princeton he's heard in a while. 

Beaulieu's time at Princeton has come to an end. She'll continue her running career this coming year at Duke. As for Princeton Track and Field, there are Tigers who are headed to Eugene. 

In fact, there are two Princeton steeplechasers who will be there: Brian Boler and Jackson Shorten. Both of them finished second in his heat, earning an automatic qualification to the finals. If you're wondering about their times, they were 8:31.28 (Boler) and 8:34.11 (Shorten). 

In all seven Princeton individuals and one relay have advanced to Eugene for the Princeton men. You can read about them HERE. Joey Gant, who graduated last week, reached in two events, with a 45.13 in the 400 to finish third in his heat, which brings him to the NCAA finals for the first time as an individual. 

He also was part of the 4x400 relay with Jon York, Xavier Donaldson and Kavon Miller that set an Ivy League record in 3:02.60, which took down the record that Princeton's foursome had set a year ago at the East Regional. 

For the women, there are also seven, if TB is counting correctly. You can read all about them HERE. 

TB wants to be mindful of the accomplishments of Georgina Scoot, who won the triple jump at the qualifier with a personal best 13.67 m/44-10.25 feet. Scoot had already qualified in the long jump as well, which means it'll be the second straight year she does both at the finals. 

Her leap in the triple jump at Kentucky puts her in the top five nationally and makes her a legitimate contender to win in Oregon. She was already a first-team All-American in the event indoors this year.