Day two at the Penn Relays brings plenty of excitement

Much like time itself, the Penn Relays have essentially become an inevitability over the past 120 years at Franklin Field. However, as Penn track and field understands on a deep level, the results that the Relays yield are all but inevitable.

Following a strong day one, the Quakers posted several more strong results at the Relays on Friday. However, after having notched three individual titles in last year’s running of the event, the theme of the weekend for Penn seems to be “runner-up.”

The theme was established on Thursday, when sophomore Noel Jancewicz finished second in the heptathlon, while junior Kelsey Hay finished fifth in the women’s javelin.

That theme would continue on Friday.

Senior jumper Thomas Pitt put on a show in the men’s long jump but ultimately came up just short of a Relays title, finishing second in the college portion of the draw. Pitt will get another shot at a Relays title – alongside freshman phenom Mike Monroe – in the high jump on Saturday.

The theme would continue even further on the track for the Red and Blue, as the men’s 4x400-meter relay squad finished runner-up in the Heptagonal section of the Relays against other Ivy League competition.

All of this is not to say that the Quakers have not seen their fair share of success, but rather that it looks unrealistic to expect Penn to repeat its extraordinary individual performances from last year.

This is in no small part a function of the Penn athletes competing in individual competition. Star junior Thomas Awad – for instance – competed in a men’s distance medley relay on Friday that simply had no shot at taking the title.

It is also not to say that there haven’t been other outstanding individual performances. Penn’s youth contingent has shown promise all weekend, and no individual more so than Candace Taylor, who has competed with four of Penn’s relay teams in her first collegiate Relays.

With the weather outside improving significantly from Thursday, day two of the Relays saw a significant rise in attendance (almost 40,000 spectators filled Franklin Field on Friday). With international competition taking full flight, it would not be unreasonable to expect over 50,000 in attendance on Saturday.

High school powerhouse Edwin Allen showed its mettle in the women’s 4x100m, but Friday saw a major shift from high school to collegiate competition. And arguably the day’s two most exciting moments came from a collegiate track powerhouse: Oregon.

The Ducks took the men’s distance medley relay off the strength of a sub-4:00 mile from Edward Cheserek, the man widely believed to be the top runner in collegiate cross country and track. Meanwhile, Oregon also took the women’s sprint medley relay in exhilarating fashion, with anchor leg Annie Leblanc posting an incredible 2:03 split in her 800m leg to take the title.

And if last year’s Relays’ Saturday is any indication, there is plenty more excitement left.

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