W. Track to reach indoor season's climax at Heps

After two months of almost weekly competition, the women's indoor track season for Penn will hit its climax this weekend in Hanover, N.H. At the Heptagonal Championships at Dartmouth, the Quakers will be facing all seven Ivy League rivals as well as Navy in the most important meet of the indoor season for Penn. The Quakers hope to come away with their first Heps indoor championship since 1996. "We live for Heps," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "This is the meet that we have waited for all season, so everyone is excited and ready to do what we love." Heps couldn't be coming at a better time for this Red and Blue squad. Penn is coming off a phenomenal meet at George Mason that saw a smaller-than-usual squad turn in some outstanding performances. An obvious highlight of the meet for Penn was sophomore Liz Wittels breaking the school record in the pole vault for the third time in less than a month. "I am happy because I am staying pretty consistent, but I would like to be going a little bit higher," Wittels said. "The work and training is pretty much done at this point, and now we just want to make sure that everyone stays fresh and that no one gets injured." Perhaps the biggest surprise in this meet for Penn was the breakthrough performance by the team's relay squad. The team of sophomore Jeraldine Cofie, junior Melissa MacIntyre, freshman Petra Stewart and junior Bassey Adjah turned in its fastest time of the season in the 4x400 meters with a 3:54.29 to finish second in the meet. "Our relay teams had just an awesome meet," Tenisci said. "Our A-team turned in by far their best performance of the year, and then our B-team came in almost two seconds faster than our A-team had previously been all season." One possible explanation for the team's success at George Mason is that the Quakers runners are just now hitting their peak. The reason for this is that the Penn runners tend to develop their speed later on into the season because the team must practice outside in the cold weather, which is not conducive to speed workouts. "I think we turned a big corner last weekend," Tenisci said. "All the girls just showed themselves how talented they really are and what they are capable of doing." Another reason for optimism on Penn's part is the fact that the Quakers really seemed to build team pride in last Saturday's meet. "With the smaller number of people, we really bonded and came together," Wittels said. "There was a great sense of unity in our team." Although Penn's solid performances at George Mason bode well for the team's chances at Heps, the Quakers know they will need contributions from the entire team if they are to walk away from New Hampshire as champions. Penn's fate could hinge on how the team's numerous freshmen handle the pressure of such an important meet. "It has been a roller-coaster ride for all of our freshmen," Tenisci said. "But I think that they have finally settled down and are really contributing to our team." The squad understands the important of being fresh this weekend, so the coaches are making sure that everyone is rested up and healthy come Saturday. "We are definitely taking it a bit easier this week," MacIntyre said. "It is very important for the jumpers' legs to have pop and for the runners' legs to feel fast, so we don't want to overdo it this week." After months of preparation, the time for practice and waiting is over. "This is without a doubt the most exciting time of the year for us," Tenisci said. "The team has worked hard and kept their focus, so now it is finally time for us to give our best effort and compete with pride for our school."

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