Five W. Track standouts headed to ECAC meet at George Mason

Bassey Adjah and Luana Botelho will try to break school records in Va. And then there were five. Thirteen individuals and two relay teams scored points for the sixth place Penn women's track team at the Heptagonal Championships on the weekend of May 1-2. But only five Quakers will compete at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships this Saturday and Sunday at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va. The quintet of Bassey Adjah (long jump), Luana Botelho (shot put), Rita Garber (3,000 meters) and pole vaulters Elizabeth Wittels and Ami Desai will have to carry the torch by themselves for Penn in the ECACs. Several other Quakers met the minimum time or distance requirements to qualify, but chose not to participate in the meet. "Because the wait between Heps and ECACs was so long [three weeks] and the seniors had such a hectic time, many did not choose to compete," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. Among those who will not be at ECACs are the members of the 4x100 relay team. Sophomore JaJuan Gair, senior Shana McDonald-Black and juniors Vicki Moore and Richelle Clements combined to break the school record with a time of 47.41 at Heps but will not make the trip to Virginia this weekend. Several other Penn records may be in jeopardy at ECACs, however. Frances Childs' 14-year old long jump record of 19'6.25'' may not last much longer, as Adjah leapt 19'2.75'' at Heps less than three weeks ago. "At Heps I missed [the school record] by six inches and I was behind the board," Adjah said. The Quakers sophomore, who has improved by more than a foot in the past year, has been focusing on her approach -- rather than her actual jump -- in recent practices. "I'm just working on my run-up," Adjah said. "My problem isn't in jumping, it's that I sometimes try too hard and my run-up changes." Botelho, meanwhile, already holds several school records, but the senior will try to best her outdoor shot put mark of 45'2'' in her final college meet this weekend. "She really put the throwing team back on the map," Tenisci said. "I'd really like her to end with another record." Botelho has come back from a broken thumb on her throwing hand to return to her record-breaking form, throwing a near-PR of 44'9.75'' at Heps. Fellow senior Garber probably will not break a record in the 3,000 -- Chris Lundy's 9:28.71 in 1992 is likely out of reach -- but the former walk-on will be looking to run under 9:40 at ECACs. "I'm looking to end my season and my college career on a high note," Garber said. "I want to walk away without any regrets." Garber ran 9:48.86 at Heps, but had run the 5,000 only hours before. Dead legs will not be a problem at ECACs, though; Garber qualified in both races but will only compete in the 3,000. "At Heps my goal was to score as many points as possible for the team," Garber said. "But now I'll really be able to put everything into one race." Although Wittels had a poor outing at Heps, the freshman remains Penn's best chance to go to Nationals. Her clearing height, 9'6.25'', was nearly two and a half feet off her personal record. "It was a windy day at Heps," Tenisci said. "The conditions weren't very good for pole vaulters." But Wittels' best jump, 12 feet, is good enough for provisional qualification for the NCAA Championships. Tenisci believes she probably needs a higher jump to vault into the pool of qualifiers, but Wittels could conceivably still make Nationals with a subpar jump this weekend. Desai, on the other hand, outjumped Wittels at Heps to place third, but the Quakers sophomore will need to fly much higher to qualify for next month's NCAA Championships.

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