Smith to miss Invite

Last meet's showing encouraging for Penn After suffering a knee injury at the George Mason meet on Dec. 9, it appears as if the racing shoes worn by junior hurdling sensation Daria Smith will be spending the rest of the season laying idle in her locker. The task of filling those shoes will be no easy task. After one meet, it appears Dawn McGee will have no problem rising to the occasion. "Dawn understands what is expected of her and she always had a very good role model in Daria," assistant track coach Tony Tenisci said. "Dawn knows what it takes to be a star and top quality hurdler, and she is one of the top hurdlers in the Ivy League Conference." Along with McGee's encouraging third-place finish in the 55-meter hurdle dash at the Yale Invitational, the overall performance of Penn's young athletes is a sign a of things to come. Freshman sprinters Jessica Mitchell and Michele Satine both ran solid races. Mitchell finished fourth in the 800 meters while Satine finished eighth in the 400 meters. The second-place finishes of Kim Mason and Tiffany Archer in the long and triple jump against the Elis are only two indications of the Quakers' success in the jumping events this season. Throwers Mandy Bennett and Luanna Botelho have added a new dimension to the Penn track team. Their top five finishes in the shot put and 20-pound weight events should give Penn the opportunity to not only be a dominant force on the track, but also in the field. Tomorrow's Cornell Invitational, where Penn will compete against the Big Red, Penn State, Toronto, Waterloo and York will be the first scored meet of the season for the Quakers. For the second time this season, Penn will take all of its athletes to the meet. After two strong workouts on Monday and Wednesday, the Red and Blue should be ready to compete this Saturday. "I am hopeful that everybody will find their legs and be able to get into a rhythm again," Tenisci said. While her teammates prepare for Cornell, Smith will be getting ready for surgery on her torn anterior cruciate ligament Wednesday. "We are hopeful with early surgery, she will have this spring and summer to regroup and rehabilitate and she will be ready to go next year," Tenisci said.