Well-rested W. Track squad heads to Heps

With their impressive win over Princeton nearly two weeks behind them, the members of the Penn women's track team have turned their attention to the culmination of the indoor season this weekend at Cornell. The Quakers travel to Ithaca, N.Y., this weekend to compete in the two-day Heptagonal Championships. Heps serve as the conference championship for the eight Ivy schools and Navy. "It's a very big deal -- especially for the seniors in our final Heps," senior captain Shana McDonald-Black said. The Quakers are heavily laden with senior talent, as 13 athletes will be lost to graduation this May. However, with Heps and the entire outdoor season still to come, there's no time for sentimentality just yet. "I don't really feel a sense of finality," senior sprinter Vicki Moore said. "Some of us are really close to [indoor] records or to qualifying for the ECACs." The ECACs -- for those athletes who have qualified throughout the year -- take place the weekend after Heps. Athletes who perform well enough at ECACs will advance to Nationals. Senior Luana Botelho, who last year set both the indoor and outdoor Penn records in the shot put, is also concentrating on the task at hand. "I'd like to go out with a win," the Quakers co-captain and defending Heps champ said. "After two weeks off, you're really pumped to do something, especially since it's Heps." Last weekend marked the first time this semester that Penn did not have a meet. "It was very good," McDonald-Black said. "I think we feel more relaxed and rested." Not all of the Quakers shared the opinion of their captain. "I think that some of us would've liked to have another meet before Heps," Moore said. "I'm running the 200, but I've only run it one other time this season so I would've liked to have had another meet [competing in the event]." In lieu of a competition last weekend, the Quakers held an informal team session. "We were going to have an intrasquad meet but we just had the relays and then we had pizza together as a team bonding experience," McDonald-Black said. "It's good because team unity is so important in Heps." The Quakers have had no problems with team unity this season and there is no reason to suspect any this weekend. "Everyone is really, really pumped and we've all been supporting, helping each other," Moore said. The Red and Blue aren't necessarily the favorites this weekend but they are certainly a force to be reckoned with. The Quakers have done very well in this year's regular-season meetings with their Ancient Eight foes, with the highlight coming two weeks ago in Penn's trouncing of the defending Heps champion, archrival Princeton. "I think we have a good team," Botelho said. "We have a lot of depth, that's our strength. We're going in there and wanting to come home with the trophy." The goals for the team were in perfect harmony with the individual goals of Botelho and McDonald-Black. "I want to give whatever I can back to this team because I've gotten so much over the past four years," Botelho said. "I'd like to leave something for the team. Not just as a captain for people to talk to, but I want to lead by my example, with my performance. Cornell is a long bus ride and I want to be happy on the ride home."