W. Track runs rampant at Invitational

The Penn women's track team is coasting through its outdoor season with little pressure and much success. With unscored meets constituting the beginning of the Quakers' season, they've had a chance to rearrange their roster and give their younger runners a chance to compete. But while it's a time of experimentation, the team is also showing some consistency from its upperclassmen who are breaking personal records and qualifying for national meets. It is said that the whole is a sum of its parts, and if the team's parts, both young and old, continue with the success they've found lately, a title may fall into place for the whole. Saturday's Penn Invitational at Franklin Field put the Quakers up against some tough East Coast competition. Conference-rival Navy and nationally competitive Syracuse were among the five schools, along with Delaware, Temple and Rowan. Senior co-captain Karyn Smith had another stellar performance this weekend, with wins in both the long jump and triple jump. Her distance of 41 feet, 1/2 inches in the triple was enough to qualify for nationals. Smith dominated her field events, as did junior Nicole Maloy, who finished first in the high jump at 5-7.75. The duo has been strong all year and could turn some heads in the upcoming Princeton meet. While they have fired up the jumping events, junior Jenee Anzelone has burned up the track, sweeping her distance events. A 4:40.32 in the 1,500 meter was a personal best, and a first place in the 800 left her undefeated on the day. Anzelone, who excels in the half-mile, tested herself by running the 800 only a half-hour after the 1,500. "I wanted to see if I was strong enough to double," Anzelone said. "I was tired in the 800, and I ran as slow as I could to win." Although Anzelone had an incredible day, the depth of Penn's distance team is what will bring the team victories in the future. In the 1500, the Quakers posted a fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finish behind Anzelone. Penn's distance squad has seen some bright and dim spots over the years. Three years ago, they were solid but lost quite a few to graduation a year later. Along with the loss of experience came a poor recruiting year, which combined to give them problems. But with a revitalized team of new talent, as seen by freshman Jen Rocks' 2:20 in the 800 Saturday, the distance runners look to be on the upswing. "We had a decent meet," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "They've worked hard and did a nice job." But this meet is one of only a few that serves the purpose to prepare for the larger and more important meets, to see where you stand individually and how you can strengthen the team. "It was a fun meet before we get serious," Anzelone said. "We're coming down from indoors and there's not too much pressure. We need to gear up for Penn Relays and Heps." And a victory is not so far fetched for Penn this time around. The Quakers scraped together a team from an injury-plagued squad to finish third in indoors, and with both healthy runners and recent good weather, it's looking even better for them. "We probably would have been first if the meet was scored on Saturday," Anzelone said. "We have such an amazing team. We can do it." You can't get anywhere without confidence or determination, and this team exemplifies both. Now they're pulling together and sweeping some formidable competition, and doing this even realizing it doesn't really count. When it comes time to test yourself, your result is a reflection of past work, and the Quakers have done plenty of it.