Both track teams compete at Bucknell

Both the Penn men's and women's track teams competed in the Bucknell Invitational on Saturday. A number of small schools participated in the meet, which also featured Villanova, Maryland, and Bucknell from the Division I ranks. No team scores were kept at the invite. The meet was an opportunity for individuals to see where they stand at this point in the season in comparison to other athletes they will meet in future competitions. Although Penn's men did make some mistakes, assistant coach Nathan Taylor believes the meet was a success. "For the most part we were pleased," Taylor said. "Some guys did very well." A total of 10 athletes qualified for the IC4A meet at Princeton, where 95 Division I schools competed in March. Qualifying for the IC4As is considered a benchmark at this point in the season. Stan Anderson took first in the triple jump. Greg Davis won both the 200-meter dash and the 55-meter dash. Another impressive first-place finisher was Eric Hyde in the long jump. He also took second in the high hurdles. Dan Nord won the high hurdles and placed third in the long jump. John Linhart took first in the pole vault competition. Some of the Quakers participated at the Navy Invitational on Friday, as well. Rich Carlson won the high jump, while Lucas Deines took first in the 35 pound weight competition. The distance medley team of Neil Riordan, Robin Martin, Lou Juliano, and Aaron McCommons placed third at Navy. The women were equally satisfied with their performance this weekend. They used this meet primarily as a time to see how far they have come after four months of training. "There was not a whole lot of competition, so we were really competing against ourselves," Penn sophomore thrower Mandy Bennett said. "We did pretty well. There were not a lot of expectations. It was really just a chance for everyone to compete and to introduce the freshman to intercollegiate track." Melanie Cafe, Jessica Mitchell, Stacey Yearwood, and Maria Thoma took first, second, third, and fourth, respectively in the 800-meter run. Kim Mason placed second in the long jump, while Dawn McGee finished second in the high hurdles. Michele Satine took second in the 500-meter dash, while Jen Roy finished second in the 400-meter dash. Penn's 1600 meter relay took first in its competition. The Quakers hope their individual successes continue throughout the season and carry over to team victory.