W. Track comes up short at Princeton

The Quakers saw some records fall, but could not get by the Tigers. The Penn women's track team headed to Princeton last weekend and came up short in a dual meet that was close all the way. The Quakers put forth a valiant effort against their rivals from Old Nassau, but the Tigers got just enough clutch performances to edge Penn 66-61. "The meet was very competitive and it came down to the very end," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "There were a couple of things that didn't go our way, but I think the team put forth a great effort and looked good the whole way." Junior Bassey Adjah had a tremendous meet for the Quakers. Adjah's time of 8.31 seconds was good enough for first place in the 55-meter hurdles. She was also victorious in the long jump, with a leap of 5.72 meters. "Bassey was just superb for us," Tenisci said. "She has been looking great lately and against Princeton she really showed how good she can be." Sophomore Liz Wittels turned in another strong performance for the Quakers. Wittels broke the Penn school record in the pole vault with a jump of 11' 5 3/4". She broke her own record, which she had set only a week earlier in New York. "I feel like we are really starting to click," Wittels said. "I hope to do a little better as the season progresses, but for this meet I was happy with how I did." Senior Richelle Clements also had a strong outing for Penn. Clements set a personal record in winning the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.47. She also won the 200 with a time of 26:34. "I think some of our kids really turned the corner in this meet," Tenisci said. "Some of them showed that they are really on their way to something special." Other individual winners for the Quakers were sophomore Nke Nwaobasi in the 20-pound weight, junior Yinka Orafidiya in the shot put and senior captain Ruthie Neuhaus in the triple jump. Melissa MacIntyre was also a key contributor, finishing second in both the 400 and the long jump. Penn also saw solid efforts by some of the many freshmen on the squad. Dennean Davis showed off her versatility by finishing fourth in the 55 dash and the 55 hurdles, as well as finishing fifth in the long jump. Meredith Bunche was fourth in the 400 and fifth in the triple jump. "We have a ton of talented freshmen," Wittels said. "I think if they do what they are capable of we will be in great shape." Penn may have been hurt in the meet by the relative size of their squad. The young Quakers are a fairly small group compared to the Tigers, and that may have cost the Red and Blue some valuable points. "Having a smaller squad was a factor in the final score," Tenisci said. "In a dual meet like this, it is critical to place a lot of runners near the top. We did a good job of winning some events, but they're giving out points for more than just first place." Despite the loss, the Quakers have to feel pretty good about the meet. Penn has been looking toward the Heptagonal Championships all season, and this meet showed that Penn definitely can compete on the level of Princeton, a team that won Indoor Heps in 1997 and 1998 and is always right in the hunt. Given a couple more weeks to prepare, the Quakers could be in a position to make some noise. "We've changed our schedule around a little bit and we are practicing really hard," MacIntyre said. "But most of the preparation is already done. We are just trying to stay healthy and do a few little things." Next week, the Quakers will head to Cornell and compete in a larger meet. The goal for Penn is to be in the best possible shape by February 26, the day Heps will get underway at Dartmouth. "We are really starting to gear up for the most intense part of our season," Tenisci said. "There is no time to sleep now. We're at the point in the year that we have to step it up and get going."