Championship Central

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships return to West Windsor Fields, where Princeton looks to defend their its title.

The men race at noon, while the women’s race begins at 11 a.m. 

In 2017, Princeton placed five runners in the top 10 en route to its 20th overall title. But in order to defend their title, the Tigers will have to contend with a trio of battle-tested squads in Columbia, Penn and Yale, and a nationally ranked team in Harvard. 

Princeton is ranked No. 28 in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll and No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic Region and will be led by juniors Conor Lundy, Gannon Willcutts and Viraj Deokar, all of whom finished in the top-10 last season. The Tigers hope to win consecutive titles for the first time since three-peating from 2010-12. 

Columbia also brings back a trio of top-10 runners from 2017 in junior Kenny Vasbinder (fifth) and seniors Brian Zabilski (seventh) and Lucky Schreiner (eighth) and looks to take the top spot for the first time since 2015. 

But the Lions and Tigers will have to contend with the Quakers, who return four top-30 runners from last year, including the 12th-place finisher in senior Kevin Monogue. 

Yale brings back six of its seven runners from a season ago, including two who finished among the top-25. Trevor Reinhart leads the group; the junior placed sixth in 2017 and 16th in 2016. Harvard sophomore Hugo Milner placed 11th last season in his first career Ivy Heps and leads a Crimson team that is receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA national poll.

Four Big Green runners return as Dartmouth hopes to improve upon the its fifth-place finish last season, while Cornell will have to replace five seniors and looks to lone returner Tyler Fisher to lead the team. Brown will be paced by junior Cameron Daly (41st), sophomore David Scherrer (48th) and senior Tom Hale (51st).