Prime time at Franklin Field: Happy to be hosting the Penn Relays, M. Track hopes to make an impact of its own

The 105th Running of the Penn Relay Carnival Sophomore Darryl Olczak thought his chance to compete at the Penn Relays last year had come and gone. The then-freshman had been scheduled to run in the 4x200-meter relay but the Quakers botched the first exchange and Olczak -- the third leg on the team -- never got to run. But his luck would change as teammate Shawn Fernandes' injury opened up a spot for Olczak in the 4x100-meter relay. Saturday afternoon, Franklin Field was teeming with people. And Darryl Olczak finally had his chance to run. "That was really awesome," Olczak said. "One of the top three track experiences in my life. All the people are at the Penn Relays for track. They know about track. They know all about what they're talking about and enjoying watching it." This Friday and Saturday, Penn will be just one of hundreds of college teams competing at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field. In a meet that will include 18,000 athletes, the Quakers will be little fish in a big pond. But they will soak in every bit of the electric atmosphere that they can. "As far as I'm concerned it's the greatest track meet in the world," Penn jumper Stanley Anderson said. "This is like Christmas to me." While most of the track events are relays, Anderson will be among the individuals competing in field events. The Penn senior -- who leapt 50'06.25'' at the Penn Relays last year to win the Eastern triple jump -- is scheduled to compete in both the triple jump and the long jump this year. Fellow senior Dan Nord was slated to compete in the long jump and the 4x100-meter relay this weekend but a hamstring pull will keep him out of action in the largest track meet outside of the Olympics. "It's great to be on the field warming up next to a gold medalist like Michael Johnson or Allen Johnson," Nord said. But isn't it intimidating? "It would be for the other teams," Nord said. "But the athletes see our Penn jackets and know it's our home field and give us a lot of respect for that." Penn will likely field a 4x100-meter, 4x400-meter and a distance medley team on the track this weekend. But injuries have depleted the Quakers relay teams, as Nord, Olczak, Mike Aguilar and Sean MacMillan have all been banged up to an extent. The qualifying rounds for the 4x100 and 4x400 meters are on Friday at noon and 3:15 p.m., respectively. The top teams from those heats will compete again on Saturday afternoon. The distance medley, meanwhile, is just one race -- a final at 1 p.m. on Friday. Mark Granshaw, Craig Douglas, Andrew Girardin and MacMillan are likely to be Penn's representatives in the DM. The Quakers team that included Douglas and Girardin finished eighth last year in a time of 9:52.89. While most of the competition will take place for Penn this weekend, some Quakers competitors are already competing in the decathlon. The 10-event individual competition started yesterday and will finish today. But some high school relays have already begun on the track and Olczak was there to watch. "Already just the atmosphere is getting to me," Olczak said. "I'm already getting excited and it's just Tuesday." In some ways the Penn Relays are the biggest races of the year for the Quakers athletes. Although the Heptagonal races next month may be more important in terms of team and individual performances, the Penn Relays are larger in the eyes of many. "The difference between Heps and the Penn Relays is like the difference between a regular season game and the Super Bowl," Olczak said. "A lot of people don't come out to every regular season game but when the Super Bowl comes up they get real excited." Yes, the Penn Relays are like the Super Bowl of track and field. But no one comes to Franklin Field for the commercials.

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