W. Track second again in tri-meet as Relays loom

Penn finished behind Cornell but topped the visiting squad from Birmingham, England. For the Penn women's track team, it's starting to seem like a classic case of always being the bridesmaid, but never the bride. The Quakers secured runner-up position for the second consecutive week in a tri-meet on Saturday by recording 124 points, while Cornell led with 155 points scored. Also at the tri-meet, finishing a distant third, was visiting Birmingham (U.K.). The team, which arrived last Wednesday evening, ended the afternoon with 85 points. Saturday's competition marked the end of the regular outdoor season for the Red and Blue, as they now head into the much-anticipated Penn Relays to be held on Franklin Field's track this weekend. Though the weather on Saturday remained cloudy with light rain throughout the afternoon, the Red and Blue's performance had several bright spots. Recording first-place finishes in their respective events this weekend were junior Bassey Adjah, sophomore Liz Wittels and freshman Julie Siebert-Johnson. Adjah continued her dominance this season by finishing first in the long jump with a leap of 17'8". Sophomore Melissa MacIntyre finished second with a jump of 17'5", while freshman Meredith Bunche leapt to a fourth-place finish. Adjah's strong overall performance also included a second-place effort in the 100-meter hurdles. The junior also ran the third leg of Penn's victorious 4x400 relay. By the end of the afternoon, Adjah had contributed a total of 19 points to Penn's total score. The team has shaken off its slow and disappointing indoor season and has boldly proven itself thus far in the spring. Adjah attributes her personal as well as the team's overall success throughout the outdoor season to thorough preparation and to the squad's bonding over the past few months. "Everyone is finally stepping up and finally peeking," Adjah said. "The team is also coming together as [a unit] for the first time, and now it is more than just a few people doing the scoring." In the pole vault event, Liz Wittels' performance earned the Quakers seven more points, as she successfully cleared a height of 10'11" to win the event. The sophomore also recorded third-place points in the hammer throw event, throwing a distance of 136'6". Wittels' sophomore campaign has indeed been a successful one, as this week's performance almost eclipsed her first-place, school record-tying effort in the javelin throw at Yale last weekend. Also contributing to the Quakers' collective effort were senior captains Richelle Clements and Ruthie Neuhaus. Clements finished the afternoon adding nine points, as she finished second and third, respectively, in the 100 and 200. Meanwhile, Neuhaus led a dominant triple jump team that took second through fifth places. Finishing behind Neuhaus were teammates Jennifer Thompson, Bunche and Meghan Moran. In the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Alicia Terry captured second-place as she finished just 2/10 of a second behind Cornell's Benita Gateman with a time of 63.0. And finishing fourth for the Red and Blue in the event was freshman Crystal Marsh, who recorded a time of 64.9. Though Penn finished the meet in second, the Quakers led Cornell early on. The Quakers ran into trouble down the stretch, however. "There were a few [events] that we should have won or scored in, and we didn't. That is what really hurt us in the end," Adjah said. Saturday's competition ended as the Penn 4x400 relay team won their event for the fourth time this season. The relay team, which on Saturday included Qianna Snooks, Adjah, Jeraldine Cofie and Petra Stewart, completed its outdoor season undefeated throughout Ivy League competition. Expectations are certainly high for the remainder of the outdoor season. The Quakers hope to prove themselves on a grand stage this Friday against Ivy League competition at Relays in front of thousands of visiting fans. The Quakers will follow up Relays with the Heptagonal Championships at home and IC4As.

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