Weather hurts teams

"OK class, let's review bad combinations," Mrs. Bradley said. "There are mailmen and rottweilers, screen doors and submarines and most importantly, hazardous weather and women's track." For the second straight week, the Penn women's track team has been forced to contend with the wrath of Mother Nature. Last week's ice and snow has been hanging around, making life miserable for the Quakers. The combination of an icy track and a frigid indoor facility have disrupted Penn's training. Tomorrow, the Quakers compete in the West Point Invitational and will face teams that have the luxury of practicing on an indoor track. This problem is compounded by the fact that not everyone was supposed to compete there. Penn had originally intended to send three of its middle-distance runners to compete in the Boston University Terrier Classic. · You get the feeling the Penn men's indoor track team must have once done something to offend Mother Nature. For the second straight week, the elements have wreaked havoc on coach Charlie Powell and his squad. So much so, in fact, that the Quakers' plans for the weekend are still somewhat in doubt. Penn was supposed to split up this Saturday, with a few Quakers heading to Lehigh and the rest going to Boston. But the inclement weather and the threat of even worse conditions leaves things up in the air. Powell will find out later today if the meet at Lehigh will take place. Last night, however, he did learn the two-day event in Boston will be staged in spite of the weather.