The women's track team followed up an incredible recruiting class last year with another terrific recruiting class, giving the team much to look forward to, according to coach Betty Costanza. "I'm excited about this year's and last year's impact freshmen," assistant coach Cricket Batz Shaklee said. "The dynamite freshman class is now a dynamite sophomore class." Co-captain Maggie Morrow believes this is one of the team's greatest strengths. Penn lost only two seniors last year, so the new freshman class gives it a lot of depth. One of those seniors, Karyn Smith, was described by Costanza as a "franchise" athlete. She was an All-American, becoming the first Penn athlete to receive such an honor in a technical event. She was also named first-team all-Ivy in the long jump and triple jump. But the biggest factor for Penn may be simply remaining injury free. Injuries hurt the Quakers dearly last year at the Heptagonal Championships. "Our hopes were abruptly halted when two top seeds, sprinter Jamila Northington and hurdler Daria Smith, were lost to injury," Costanza said. The Quakers still managed to finish in third place at Heps. Assistant coach Tony Tenisci believes the Quakers will still be one of the top teams in their league. Another major factor in the upcoming season will be the weather, according to Shaklee. "We are the only program [in the Ivy League] that does not have an indoor facility," she said. "We lost two and a half weeks of practice last year because of the rain." Costanza believes the strong points of the team are the sprinting, jumping and hurdling. She thinks they are one of the top teams "from the half-mile down." One of Penn's weak points is the throwing, Costanza said. She believes the main reason for this is a lack of personnel. "The ability is there," Maloy said. "You can never be sure what is going to happen. Everyone has a lot to look forward to." Morrow agrees with the team's outstanding potential. There is a large number of seniors to provide leadership for the talented freshman and sophomore classes. "We have a really good shot at winning Heps," Morrow said. Among the senior leaders are Maloy, Monica McCullough and Jamila Northington, who all received first-team all-Ivy honors last year. Jenee Anzelone received second-team all-Ivy honors, and was named an MVP for the outdoor season along.
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