Track comes alive at Relays

M. Track hopes to join the big show to kick off its postseason push. This is why the Penn men's track team endures a long, grueling indoor schedule. This is why the Red and Blue attend the Villanova Invitational to compete in a cold rain, with little immediate reward in sight. For all the rather nondescript meets the Quakers participate in during a given year, in which their team roster often outnumbers the fans, this week's Penn Relays represents the end that justifies that means. Beginning tomorrow, Penn embarks on a crucial four-week journey that will also include the Heptagonal Championships and IC4As. "This is like the playoffs," said head coach Charlie Powell, indicating that the "regular season" has drawn to a close. Winning Heps remains atop Penn's list of priorities, but no one disputes that the Penn Relays are this country's single greatest track and field spectacle. And heading into this prestigious meet at Franklin Field, the Quakers are excited, yet also loose. Coming off a solid meet last week in their victory over Cornell and Birmingham (U.K.), the Red and Blue are in good spirits. "Everybody's pumped. Juices are flowing," senior pole vaulter John Church said. "If you're not pumped for Relays, there's no point in being on the track team." "Penn Relays is a show. It is a relay carnival," said Powell, accenting the last word to describe the party atmosphere inherent in the weekend. Heading into this weekend, the Quakers find themselves healthier than in past meets this spring. This is also the stage in the season when those who are still plagued by some nagging injuries battle through them. Exhibit A is javelin thrower Brian Chaput. The freshman handily won at each meet he participated in while also climbing the ranks of the Penn record books before aggravating an old high school elbow injury that kept him sidelined the last two weeks. Chaput will not be kept out of action for Relays, however. "I'm not 100 percent, but I'm ready," Chaput said. "I'm pretty close." Also returning from injury is junior sprinter Mike Aguilar, who will compete in the 4x100-meter relay, 110 high hurdles and the 4x400 this Friday. Aguilar had been suffering from a strained hip flexor, which he incurred at the Princeton Invitational on April 8. The Lakewood, N.J., native, like Chaput, will not pass up a chance to compete in front of a jammed and raucous Franklin Field. "It's the only time that this place gets filled," said Aguilar of his home stadium Some of Aguilar's fellow runners will be competing in perhaps the weekend's most exciting race, if for no other reason but for scheduling. The 4x800 squad, led by junior captain Andrew Girardin, followed by freshman Greg English, senior Craig Douglas and freshman Sam Burley respectively, will compete at 4:15 on Saturday afternoon, sandwiched between races involving Olympic hopefuls. By this point, which can be considered the height of Relays, at least 40,000 onlookers should be present. "As far as running in front of a crowd, it's the highlight of the year," Girardin said. One thing that can hamper Penn as well of the rest of the enormous field is the weather, as forecasters are calling for a chance of rain for every day of the Carnival. "It's really never good to run in the rain, but it's still Relays," Church said. "So it will still be exciting." No matter what Mother Nature throws at the Quakers, Powell and the rest of the team are expecting some solid performances. "We have five or six guys who have a legitimate shot at doing extremely well," Powell said.

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