W. Track to race in warm N.C. weather

For the past four years, the Penn women's track team has looked forward to the Raleigh Relays as both a chance to get some fun in the sun and a chance to compete in a warm-weather climate for the first time. Unfortunately, only the latter will be possible this weekend, as rain is forecast throughout North Carolina for the duration of the meet. The opportunity to get out of Franklin Field and into the warmer, if wetter, climate at N.C. State should be helpful. "It's at least 10 degrees warmer than it is here," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "Getting some warm weather in our bones will make us feel good and make us want to go fast." Pushing the Quakers to go faster as well will be the tough competition at the Raleigh Relays. At the meet, the Quakers will see the likes of host N.C. State, North Carolina, South Carolina and a number of other top-notch schools from below the Mason-Dixon line. "We're going to run against some really good speed," Tenisci said. "It's good to expose our kids to this type of carnival, and it gives them an opportunity to run with some of the best people in the East." In addition to warmer weather and good competition, the Red and Blue can expect at least one great in the audience -- Olympic star Marion Jones is expected to be on hand for the festivities at her home training site. More important than the hoopla, the weather or the competition, however, will be the opportunity to prepare for a hectic April. "It goes very quick now," Tenisci said. "We have one meet at home after this, then at Princeton, then Cornell, then Relays -- and boom, boom, there it is." The trip south will also feature the return of co-captain JaJuan Gair in full force. Gair has been sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered during the indoor season. She is expected to debut in the hurdles at Raleigh. "I'm really excited about the opportunity for her to have the chance to hurdle again," Tenisci said. "She's looking very, very good right now." In addition to Gair's return, the Quakers are optimistic that senior Bassey Adjah can build on her two first-place finishes -- in the 100-meter high hurdles and long jump -- at last week's Quaker Invitational. In the field events, Penn has a good chance to excel in the warm weather climate, though the rain may interfere and hinder their performance. "If it's rainy, and it gets slippery, it's just going to be hard to compete," Penn co-captain Monica Maccani said. The key players in this weekend's throwing events figure to be freshman Kai Ivory and Maccani, who is reaping the benefits of an unorthodox spring workout that included boxing and jumping rope. As the Quakers continue to progress toward midseason shape, trips like this become more and more important in terms of preparation for the Penn Relays and, ultimately, the Heptagonal Championships. "The kids are feeling pretty good, they're getting all the kinks out," Tenisci said. "Now it's time to rock and roll."

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