W. Track runs well at Army

The Penn women's track team travelled to West Point Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed what was by far its most successful meet of the season. After experiencing their worst meet of the season at the Princeton Relays over a week ago, the Quakers decimated the competition at the Army Invitational. "Super. We're back. We're ready to go. This turns us around," assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. Five of the 15 events were won by Penn athletes. Penn also finished second in four events. One of the greatest areas of improvement at West Point was the distance runners. This pleased Penn coach Betty Costanza, who had called on them to improve. Jenee Anzelone finished second in the 1,000 meters, with Jane Kim coming in close behind in third place. Senior Caitlin Riley won the 3,000 meters with a time of 10 minutes, 39.01 seconds. Senior co-captain Maggie Morrow won the 5,000 meters, and senior Bridget Ward finished third. This was only Morrow's second meet since coming back from an illness that prevented her from competing for months. In addition to Morrow, Mary Conway, Gesker, Ward and Anzelone have all been sidelined at some point during the season. "We've been working really hard to overcome illnesses and injuries," Ward said. Another reason for the improved performances, according to Costanza, is at West Point teams were able to use as many athletes as they wanted in each event. What that meant was athletes did not have to sit around for extended periods of time and could remain active. The coaching staff feels inactivity during meets has hurt the Quakers. "It would take the spirit out of God," Tenisci said. The Quakers emerged from West Point with renewed confidence that comes at a crucial time in the season -- with the Princeton Duals less than a week away. Despite the Quakers' lackluster performances in the past this season, Tenisci believes they will be successful at Princeton. "I think the seniors felt an embarrassment over their performances. In order to beat Princeton, the entire team needs to rise big-time," he said. Princeton is usually very competitive with Penn. But the Quakers feel ready.