M. Track returns to Navy

Over a month ago, the Penn men's indoor track team competed in its first meet of the year at Navy. The Quakers will make the trip again this weekend. A lot can change in a month. On December 3, coach Charlie Powell sent a squad consisting mostly of freshmen and sophomores to the Navy Invitational hoping to gain some meet experience in a relatively-relaxed event with no team scoring. This Saturday, the Quakers head to Annapolis with their entire squad. It's Penn's first significant event of the season, a meet against Virginia and the Midshipmen. "It's a test to see where you are at this point of the year," Powell said. "We'll find out where we are." The combination of no meet action since December and the recent Winter Break could lead to some less-than-stellar performances. "It's tough to keep your performances going after a month," Powell said. "Some guys will be able to go out and do well right away, but most will struggle to get to where they were." Still, despite his admission that "I know nothing about the University of Virginia," Powell thinks his team has a good chance of winning. "We're certainly going to try our best," Powell said. "We'll throw our best at their best and see where all the cookie crumbs fall." Although Powell will not make a prediction for this weekend's meet, it should still be interesting for another reason -- it gives Penn a chance to scope out Navy, winner of the last three indoor Heptagonals and a major roadblock in the Quakers' quest for their own title this year. "We'll be checking each other out," Powell said. "It's like the early rounds of a prizefight. We'll be seeing what they have and what they'll look like later on, and they'll be looking at us and what we'll look like later on." There's the bell. Let the "real" season begin.