W. Track overcomes odds

The phrase, "Still going," is commonly associated with a little pink bunny representing a battery company, but this phrase has another connotation referring to the Penn women's track team. After being set back another week by horrid weather, the Quakers bounced back yet again from a week of adversity to turn in an outstanding meet. At the Cornell Relays Saturday, as at Princeton Relays and the West Point Invitational at the end of January, Penn was able to overcome a week of inadequate practice to excel in actual competition. Facing stiff competition from Cornell, Waterloo and Western Ontario, the Quakers finished second only behind the Big Red. This finish is more impressive because along with a lack of practice, Penn competed in five fewer events than Cornell. "We were really happy with this meet," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "They did a real nice job with all of the problems they have had to deal with." At the end of the meet, Penn was handed a scoresheet that read, "Cornell 72, Penn 61." Tenisci reacted with a sense of satisfaction because the meet was primarily being used as a training day. He was all the more pleased because he knew the Big Red had won because it was in more events, as well as the fact that it was more of a training day, he said. The meet was even more positive because the Quakers were competing without senior co-captain Karyn Smith. Smith was unable to compete because she was resting her injured hamstring. "I just wanted to rest it," Smith said. "I didn't want to compete and make it any worse. It would have been dumb to jeopardize it." Smith said her hamstring has been acting up the past few weeks, but the pain usually went away after she warmed up. However, this time she decided to rest it because the Heptagonals are coming up. She's been stretching and icing it for treatment. In competition, the highlight of the meet came when junior Nicole Maloy set Penn's indoor track high jump record. By leaping 5 feet, 9 inches, Maloy bettered the previous mark by an inch. The atmosphere for the record setting jump was enhanced because it came at the end of the meet. The whole team was gathered around and cheered loudly when the bar was cleared, freshman Daria Smith said. In addition to Maloy's stellar performance, a trio of Quaker juniors achieved personal records in the 5,000 meters. Co-captain Maggie Morrow, Bridget Ward and Ann Erikson finished second, third and fourth, respectively. Daria Smith continued to excel in the sprint hurdles. Smith finished ahead of the field for the fifth time this season in 8.14 seconds. "I felt pretty good," Smith said. "We had been working on starts all week, and hurdling as well. I was excited to run, then again, I'm always excited." Another model of consistency, sophomore Jamila Northington, turned in first place performances in the 55-meters and the 200-meters. "I felt pretty good," Northington said. "The track was OK, but it wasn't the fastest we've run on. It was a pretty good race." The long jump was swept by Penn as well. Sophomore Monica McCullough led the charge by finishing first. She was followed by junior Mildred Jennings and freshman Angie Jimenez. Junior Jenee Anzelone also set a personal record in the 800 meters. "We were really surprised and pleased by the kids' performances," Tenisci said. "After all of the conditions, it's just outstanding." As the weather acts up, so does the women's track team. Now that the Quakers begin to taper down while they prepare for the Heptagonals in two weeks. Although the weather has been trying to keep the women down, they still remain energized.