SOPHOMORES BLEDAY, CALDWELL SHINE ON DAY ONE AT HEPS
By Chris Lotsbom
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

ITHACA, NY (25-Feb) -- Sophomores stole the show on the first day of competition here at The Ivy League's Heptagonal Indoor Championships. John Bleday of Dartmouth and Heidi Caldwell of Brown earned upset victories in photo-finishes of the 3000m and 5000m, respectively, capping off an exciting day of long distance finals and mid-distance trials.

Through 2000m in 5:38, the men's 3000m was playing out to be a true sit-and-kick affair. Tightly packed together, Princeton's Donn Cabral and Joe Stilin were controlling the pace, as Bleday and Brown's Dan Lowry followed close behind.

"Because there were four Princeton guys in the heat, I think they had an idea of what they were going to do together [strategy wise]," said Bleday. "I just was ready for anything to happen then."

With 400m remaining, Stilin surged, creating a slight gap back to Cabral, the reigning Heps champion over 3000m. Cabral and Bleday would battle for second until the bell sounded, where the latter, long hair pushed back, moved up and began inching closer to the front-running Stilin. After passing Cabral, Bleday thought he may have a chance to catch the senior Stilin.

"I got past Donn, and that's when I thought maybe if I get going, I can catch Joe," Bleday detailed post race. "I knew it would take all the way to the line."

With only a straightaway to go, Barton Hall began to erupt, the Cornell faithful cheering against their archrival Princeton. Kicking with the increasing noise, Bleday was getting closer and closer to the orange and black vest ahead. A step from the line, Bleday passed Stilin, throwing his hands up in excitement. The clock stopped at 8:11.30, with Stilin coming in at 8:11.42 and Cabral finishing in 8:11.69, good for third place.

Not stopping at the finish line, though, Bleday ran right into the arms of his coaches and teammates, who were watching meters from the finish line.

"Honestly, I usually hate people who throw up the 1's [in a victory pose], I think it's contrived. But emotions took over at that point, and it just felt natural. I just kept going and ran right into my coach," said the smiling winner.

Bleday compared the feeling of winning the Heptagonal title to that of his first Massachusetts  State title in high school, when he came in as an underdog and ended up beating the favored Omar Abdi at the line.

"I am just swept up in emotion, it's a great feeling. All the tradition with Heps, especially at Dartmouth. It's great."

A similar finish played out in the women's 5000m, as the race was a packed bunch until 1000m remaining. With Dartmouth's Abbey D'Agostino in the race, all eyes were on the 2011 Heptagonal Cross Country champion.

But, the sophomore from Topsfield, Mass., didn't touch the lead until late. Through 4000m in 13:30, a pack of about six, including D'Agostino, began to break away. Among the leaders were Brown's Caldwell and Olivia Mickle, Columbia's Emily Lanois and Caroline McDonough, and Princeton's Theresa Devine.

With a half mile left, D'Agostino took the lead for the first time, establishing her position at the front. Her surge would come with 600m to go, but the questioned begged to be asked: was it too late? Matching the move stride for stride were Caldwell, Lanois, and McDonough.

At the bell, D'Agostino surged again, losing McDonough. Just as it seemed the Darmouth sophomore was pulling away around the final bend, Lanois came up and challenged her on the outside. It looked to be a two-person race until Caldwell came charging on the inside, taking advantage of the open space in between the rail and D'Agostino.

At the line, it wasn't clear who had won; only 1/100th of a second separated the two. Within seconds, the scoreboard revealed Caldwell to be the winner, 16:38.01 to 16:38.02. Lanois finished third in 16:38.21.

"Going in I just wanted to score," said Caldwell who finished eleventh here last year. "Chasing Abbey, I had no idea that was going to happen."

Unofficially, her final 200m was clocked in at 32 seconds.

"I kind of crossed the line and just thought, 'what just happened?'" she said. But Caldwell was more focused on the team component of the 5000m, as the Brown Bears gained eleven points in the team championship rankings.

"I think the team really needed it, we had an okay day today. But building into tomorrow, with all the finals, it's big." She also gave credit to Olivia Mickle, who finished sixth.

D'Agostino will return to the track tomorrow in the finals of the mile. She easily won her heat today in 4:52.47.

ENDS