The 2017 Ivy League Outdoor Championships are upon us, and you can watch the whole thing live on FloTrack tomorrow and Sunday. We already previewed the best individual events, but below, we break down the heart of the meet: the team battle.

Men's Team Battle: Princeton The Favorite Over Penn And Cornell

Tradition is king in the Ivy League. Look no further than the 2017 Heps Outdoor Track and Field Championships for evidence, where once again Cornell, Penn, or Princeton will take home the men's team title. You have to go back nearly a quarter of century--back to when Army and Navy still competed at Heps--to find a winner outside of that trio.

On paper, Princeton is the heavy title favorite (147 points), with a 30-point cushion based on seeds. Penn has the second-most projected points (117), while defending champion Cornell is on track to finish a few points behind (113).

However, the meet isn't run on paper, and seeds can often mislead. The relays are always unpredictable at the end of two long days, and you should expect the first final on the track--the 10K--to upset the form sheet, as many top distance runners are entered with no seed time.

If you aren't as excited about the battle among the top three, there should also be a heated battle for the only other spot in the top half of the conference. Harvard has had a successful past two weekends, and it now looks to be a toss-up between the Crimson and the Big Green of Dartmouth for fourth.

Five Key Events

10,000 Meters: Expect Cornell to pick up some points in this event. Seniors Mark Tedder and David Taylor come in with no seed time, but both have already run 14:05 this outdoor season. If they can take down the top two seeds (Kevin Monogue and Brendan Shearn of Penn), then the Big Red will be well on their way to a second-place team finish--or even a big upset.

400 Meters: If Cornell is going to pull off the upset, it will need this event to break its way. Big Red senior Tobe Attah is the third seed with a time of 48.01. He separates Princeton's Ray Mennin (48.00) and Joshua Freeman (48.02), and all three are well within striking distance of top seed James Heckendorn of Harvard (47.98).

Shot Put: Meanwhile, if Penn wants to return to the winner's circle for the first time since 2002, an upset in the shot would go a long way. Quaker seniors Billy Bishop and Noah Kennedy-White come in seeded fourth and fifth behind Princeton's Mitchel Charles and Chris Cook as well as Harvard's Julian Nunally.

800 Meters: If you aren't interested in the title chase, then this is the event for you--it's the only one of the 22 events in which Cornell, Penn, and Princeton are seeded to score zero points. Harvard sophomore Myles Marshall set a new personal best two weeks ago and comes in as the top seed. This race could also serve as a preview of many races to come--none of the projected finalists are seniors.

Decathlon: Expect Dartmouth to make a big move up the standings once the scores are tabulated. The Big Green have the top three seeds, led by last year's runner-up Nico Robinson. However, defending champion Austin Jamerson of Cornell should be considered the favorite, despite this being his first decathlon of the season. If the team title hasn't been decided by the start of the relays, those 10 bonus points could make an 11th-hour difference for the Big Red.

Women's Team Battle: Penn vs. Harvard

The battle for the women's championship is a tale of two programs. In one corner, we have the three-time defending champions from Harvard, who have already won the cross country and Indoor conference titles this year. In the other corner is Penn, a team that hasn't won an outdoor Heps title since 1988. One year ago, the Quakers finished second to last. This year, behind the strength of an incredible freshman class, they come in as the favorites.

Based on seeds, Penn has 18 points on Harvard (164.67 to 146.67), but those numbers are a bit misleading. Expect this to be a back-and-forth affair throughout the weekend that will be nearly tied heading into the final events.

Though no one else is predicted to crack 100 points, there should be an entertaining battle for third place between Columbia (87), Cornell (83.33), and Princeton (76.75). Though their predicted totals are similar, their paths to 80 points are quite different. Columbia's points are concentrated in relatively few events--the Lions have the top seeds in the 400, 800, 5000, and 10,000--while Cornell will pick up points more steadily throughout the weekend, as the Big Red do not have a single predicted champion. Meanwhile, Princeton has 22 competitors seeded between fifth and ninth, giving the Tigers lots of opportunities to steal points. If things break their way, they could easily find themselves in third place at the conclusion of the weekend.

Five Key Events

10,000 Meters: Only eight of the 20 entrants have a seed time, so expect the form sheet to be thrown out the window after this one. Top-seeded Natalie Tanner of Columbia will be running only her second-ever 10K, but the senior has a decisive experience advantage over Harvard freshman Judy Pendergast, who will be making her 10K debut in an attempt to secure some vital team points. In the 5K at indoor Heps, Pendergast beat Tanner by a little more than a second, so Tanner will be looking to exact some revenge in her final Heps meet. Throw in Penn twins Cleo and Clarissa Whiting, and we have an exciting race with some important team title implications.

3,000 Meter Steeplechase: Sunday's first final will feature some national-class athletes and will set the tone for the teams vying for a third-place finish. Behind top-seeded Meredith Rizzo of Yale are Princeton's Elizabeth Bird, Cornell's Briar Brumley, and Columbia's Nell Crosby. Any departures from the seeded order would result in a four-point swing between the affected teams.

100 Meter Hurdles: Harvard's Jade Miller is the top returner and last year's runner-up, but she comes in seeded eighth behind six freshmen and a sophomore. Three of those freshmen are Miller's teammates in Crimson, and they will all have their eyes on second seed Breanne Bygrave of Penn.

800 Meters: Harvard does not have a single entrant in the 800--perhaps the Crimson are saving up for a potentially meet-deciding 4x800--leaving Penn with a big opportunity. Quakers freshmen Maddie Villalba, Nia Akins, and Mikayla Schneider are the third through fifth seeds and will be looking to safely navigate their way through the heats before nabbing some big points on Sunday.

Discus Throw: While all eyes are on the relays, the discus competition will likely end around the same time. Top-seeded Nikki Okwelogu of Harvard may have won her fourth straight shotput title by this point, and she will be looking to add to her hardware here. Though Penn freshmen Maura Kimmel and Isis Trotman may not challenge Okwelogu, they can offset her 10 points if they can match their projected third- and fourth-place seeds.

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