W. Track hosts the nation's elite at Quaker Invitational

The Penn women's track team hosts its second consecutive meet Sunday with the Quaker Invitational. Penn finished in the top three in nine of the 19 events at its own Penn Invitational last weekend. Penn coach Betty Costanza, though she says her goal is to perform at at least the same level as last week's performance, believes she needs more time to see if the Quakers can continue to perform at that level. "The intermediate and 100-meter hurdlers need to have another race, and the throwers need to have another meet to see if we're consistent," Costanza said. This week's meet will have 10 teams, almost twice as many as last week's. According to Costanza, many schools want to come to Penn in order to prepare for the upcoming Penn Relays, which take place April 27-29. One concern the Quakers will have is injuries. Michelle Belsley and Jane Kim are both healthy and will compete Sunday. Co-captain Monica McCullough has a stress fracture and will not compete, and Jamila Northington, one of Penn's top sprinters, is questionable. Melanie Gesker was also recently injured and may have a stress fracture. This situation may continue to deteriorate. Rain is forecasted for the Quaker Invitational, and Costanza said the weather will be "the most important factor." Senior co-captain Nicole Maloy believes there is cause to worry if it rains. "Things get slippery. It's dangerous," she said. "It's kind of scary sometimes if you're running quickly on a slick surface. That's logical grounds for fear." Costanza believes this is a crucial meet as preparation for upcoming events. The Quaker Invitational will be the last meet before dual and triple meets begin. The Quakers face arch-rival Princeton along with Yale in two weeks. Soon after that is the Penn Relays, followed by the Heptagonal Championships. "It's important to see where they're going," Costanza said. "We want to see where their training is taking them. We should be going forward, not backward." The Quakers are also continuing to make the transition from the indoor season to outdoors. "I think everything's going well," Maloy said. "I've always liked outdoors. On a nice day outdoors you can have your best performance." Costanza thinks the team is practicing well outdoors. This weekend, she is hoping for solid performances from the people who have been running consistently.