Seniors bond W. Track family

Through their leadership, the 13 seniors on the Penn women's track team have created a sense of family on the squad. Every evening, just after practice, one can find the 30-plus members of the Penn women's track team heading over to Hill House from Franklin Field to eat dinner together. According to sophomore JaJuan Gair, eating together is "just a carry over from weightlifting and practice for us." This is not something that is forced upon them by tradition or expected of them by their coaches. The athletes eat together because they enjoy doing so and because the team's 13 seniors have taken it upon themselves to perpetuate the feeling among the Quakers that they are more than just teammates. They are a track family. The seniors believe that they were treated like members of a family by the preceding classes of track seniors from the moment they became members of the team. They want to make sure that this is something that remains in place for future Quakers to experience. These 13 Penn athletes remember what it was like to arrive in a new environment, far removed from their friends and family. They realize how important the assistance they got from teammates was, and they continue to work to strengthen that network of support. "My sophomore year was kind of rough for me and my [track] class became like a second family to me," senior Mandy Bennett said. "They helped me stick it out and opened their hearts to me. They taught me how to accept support from my teammates and how to give support back." Senior captain Shana McDonald-Black feels similarly. "It's been my family away from home. Outside of running we take care of each other," she said. "If there is a problem, there is always someone there to help. That applies to personal problems, school work -- everything." This class is about more than just getting along and being close friends, however. When these Quakers arrived on campus in 1995, they did not waste any time showing that they belonged in collegiate athletics. Although they were adjusting to a completely new life, one thing they were not lacking was confidence in their athletic ability. They immediately proved that that they were ready to make a contribution to the team. As freshmen, these athletes led the Quakers to the 1996 Indoor Heptagonal title at Dartmouth. They scored over half of Penn's 102 points, Bennett said. Thirteen members of that freshman class scored points for the Quakers in one way or another, which assistant coach Tony Tenisci said "is simply unheard of." The class came together as a group during and after that year's Heps. The athletes realized that if they stuck together they could do some amazing things on the track. Every one of them has benefited from the bond that formed at that instrumental meet. "When you are together all year, it's really important that everyone gets along," Tenisci said. "It helps keep people's energy and goals alive. You are working for your family, which is your team, and yourself. You become a part of something bigger than yourself." The many record-breaking results that the seniors have compiled in four years are a testament to their will to win and their willingness to support one another. Among these 13 women, there are many school record holders. Take, for example, senior captain Luana Botelho, who holds Penn's record in the shot put. She is joined by Bennett, who holds the record in the 20-lb. weight, an indoor event similar to the hammer throw. Five-hundred meter record holder Victoria Moore is also on that list of exceptional Quakers seniors. One of the most celebrated members of the Class of '99 is captain Rita Garber, a distance runner who last fall became only the third Quaker in team history to earn a berth to the NCAA Championships. This group has developed into more than just talented runners, jumpers and throwers -- these athletes have become leaders and developed a unique bond in the process. "Everybody's personality is just so wonderful," McDonald-Black said. "The team is very outgoing. We are together all year round. We begin in September and end in May. The years before I came the team wasn't as close, but now we are a very close team. We just clicked. "The class before me, they had experienced some team division. When we came in they made a point not to treat us how the upperclassmen had treated them, and it's just carried through." Each athlete on the team brings a different quality that serves to help the team in a whole. While they all approach their leadership responsibilities from a different angle, their goal is always identical -- to win. The other athletes on the team recognize the unique character of this group and believe that they all benefit from having them around. "The seniors are definitely the leaders. They make up the majority of our competing team," Gair said. "They're older and more experienced. They are high-spirited and? they get the team's emotions ready and get everyone psyched to run." McDonald-Black is often referred to as "Mama Shana," as she is regularly going from one team member to the next making sure that everyone is taken care of and that their personal needs are being met. Other seniors, such as Victoria Moore and Aqiyla Muhammad, serve as the emotional leaders of the team. They have come up with their own chants and raps -- "UPenn, You Know!" and "The UPenn Anthem," based on DMX's "The Ruff Riders Anthem" -- to get the team motivated to compete. "I think the classes that came after us benefited because they saw what a close knit group we are. We supported each other and through that support we accomplished a lot of things," Bennett said. "High school track tended to be more individualized. If you can compete at the collegiate level, you're a good athlete and to see a lot of good athletes come together is inspiring." After four years of developing a bond, the coaches are relying on all 13 of the seniors, not just the four captains -- McDonald-Black, Garber, Botelho and senior Jessica Mitchell -- to show the rest of the team what is expected of them and to lead them to victory. "That," Tenisci said, "should be their lasting legacy."