W. Track unable to finish meet due to delays at Bucknell

Although long delays between events caused the meet to run behind schedule, the Penn women's track team was able to record outstanding individual performances this weekend at Bucknell. Like most of the indoor meets in which the Quakers have participated, no team scores were kept. The invitational was another opportunity for individuals to improve their standings going into Heptagonals, and many of Penn's team members did just that. Because such a large number of schools participated at Bucknell, the athletes found themselves waiting unusually long periods of time for their events to begin. "The waiting around was frustrating," Quakers junior Kristen Duyck said. With the meet falling so far behind schedule, the Quakers were unable to stay for the conclusion of the meet. Much to their dismay, those Penn athletes who were entered in the triple jump and 1,600-meter relay were not able to participate in their events. But despite these drawbacks, the Quakers left Bucknell with a meet to be proud of under their belts. A perfect example of Penn's successful meet is the new school record set by sophomore Luana Botelho in the shot put. Botelho broke her own record which she set last season. Also impressive was Penn sophomore Aqiyla Muhammed's first-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet 4 inches, which Quakers assistant coach Tony Tenisci noted as a personal best performance. In addition, several other personal records were also set on Saturday. Senior Erin Soley, sophomore Jessica Mitchell and sophomore Vicki Moore all had personal best performances in the 20-pound weight throw, 1,000-meter run and 400-meter run, respectively. Moore finished only less than one second behind first-place finisher Jen Roy of Penn. Other first-place finishers were senior Adria Ferguson in the 800-meter run and sophomore Rita Garber in the 3,000-meter run. The 55-meter high hurdles competition was won by junior Dawn McGee, and junior Satsuki Mitchell took first in the high jump competition. "It was a tremendous meet," Tenisci said. "The kids did extremely well." With less than two weeks left until Heps, the Quakers are beginning to taper, meaning they have a less rigorous training schedule and more time to rest. Those athletes participating in Heps will travel to George Mason on Sunday to take advantage of their last opportunity to compete before the most important meet of the indoor season.