Outdoor season begins with a bang for W. Track

The Quakers finsihed first in eight events, led by two wins by sophomore Lit Wittels. The Penn women's track team began its outdoor season on Franklin Field on Sunday with an impressive showing at the Quaker Invitational. Penn got the best of its competition, which included teams from Temple, Delaware State, La Salle, St. Francis (Pa.), West Chester and St. Joseph's. Penn coach Betty Costanza had reason to be pleased with how well the entire team performed, with standout performances coming from the women's throwing and relay teams. Sophomore Liz Wittels led Penn's field group, placing first in both the hammer throw and pole vault events. Also impressive for the Quakers was Julie Siebert-Johnson. The freshman did not compete during the indoor season, but debuted by placing a dominant first (43.34 meters) in the women's javelin throw in her first outdoor appearance. Penn came close to dominating the afternoon's events, the closest competition coming from Big 5 rivals Temple and St. Joseph's. The Red and Blue's success was a combination of the experience of the older team members and the hard work and continued maturity of the underclassmen. "Our seniors and juniors have been performing well because of experience, but the freshmen and sophomores have also stepped up. And we make a good unit together," junior jumper Jill Aronovitz said. The overall team success did not overshadow several other exceptional individual performances for Penn. Junior Bassey Adjah contributed by running the second leg of the winning 4x400 meter relay, finishing first in the long jump and logging a third-place effort in the 100 high hurdles. Junior captain JaJuan Gair also shined, placing second in the 100 high hurdles, while senior captain Ruthie Neuhaus placed second in the triple jump and junior thrower Monica Maccani placed second in both the shot put and discuss throw. Maccani did even one better by recording a strong third in the hammer throw as well. This season's Quakers -- who include 34 freshmen and sophomores compared to just 17 juniors and seniors -- look undeniably promising. Last year's team experienced painful disappointments by not measuring up to its full potential and finishing a distant sixth at the Heptagonals. However, with four events scheduled on Franklin Field's track throughout the season, this year's young outdoor team should be able to thrive. "This year's team also has a lot of potential, and we are especially hopeful with our good start," junior Regina Hendricks said. Freshman Petra Stewart, who recorded the third-fastest time in the 400-meter dash and also ran anchor for the winning 4x400 meter relay team, agreed. "It was nice that we all came out and performed well in our first meet of the [outdoor] season," she said. "This [showing] gives us a lot to build on for upcoming meets." Indeed, the Quakers have a lot to look forward to. They will need to outdo Sunday's success with five different meets scheduled throughout the month of April, including Penn Relays, April 27-29. And so far, things look promising. The Quaker Invite, which has been plagued by rainy weather in the past, took place all day yesterday amid sunshine and cool breezes which, according to Costanza, helped the meet to run very efficiently. The Quakers' next meet will take place this Saturday in North Carolina at the Raleigh Relays.

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