Penn Relays off and running

The 2001 Penn Relay Carnival will host many familiar sights this weekend, but the most impressive will likely be Texas Christian's Kim Collins burning up the anchor leg of the men's collegiate 4x100 relay. Last year, Collins was named the Carnival's Outstanding Male College Athlete after leading his team to victory in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. "[Collins] is the fastest guy on a team that has more speed than most nations, and we are very, very fortunate to have him," TCU coach Monte Stratton said. "[And] he is way ahead of last year in terms of fundamental conditioning." And if there's one thing a TCU track coach should know, it's his sprinters. The school is a sprinter factory, and its 4x100 teams own seven of the top 10 times in Penn Relays history. Last year, the Horned Frogs pulled off a super-rare sprint triple by winning the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400. "I consider it a very fortunate and productive meet if we're able to win one relay at the Penn Relays," Stratton said. "There's always such a high quality of competition, and the depth of the quality is unmatched." With three of the four members on last year's 4x100 and 4x200 champions -- Collins, Lindel Frater and Darvis Patton -- returning, Stratton was guardedly optimistic about a repeat of the sweep. "I think the 4x100 and 4x200 are equal to last year's teams," Stratton said. "The 4x400, we're still having a little difficulty getting the best people on the track [because of injuries]. "I don't know, last year will always be a highlight, and we have a goal of repeating, but the competition makes it very difficult to do that, which is why it's such a great meet." * On Thursday at 12:35, the Carnival will honor one of its own, the late Jim Tuppeny. Tuppeny was the Carnival's director from 1970 to 1987, and he graced the Philadelphia track scene with his presence for the better part of 50 years. "We're announcing today that the College Women's Distance Medley Championship of America will forever be run in Jim Tuppeny's memory," Carnival Director Dave Johnson said yesterday at a media luncheon. "During the summer we will be installing a plaque in honor of 'Tupp' on the Weightman Hall wall. "Fittingly, it will be placed nearby a plaque that was dedicated to Jumbo Elliot, when the Villanova coach passed away back in 1981." The placement is so fitting because Tuppeny essentially started his career as Elliot's assistant back in 1953. Tuppeny helped Elliot lead the Wildcats for 13 years -- during which the team won an NCAA outdoor team title in 1957 -- before taking over as head coach of the Penn track team in 1966. Tupp coached the Quakers until 1980 and led them to unprecedented success. In one 10-year stretch, Tupp's Penn squads won nine outdoor Heptagonals titles. In another, they went undefeated in dual and triangular meets. And in 1972, the Red and Blue won the Outdoor IC4A Championships. The women's distance medley includes 1,200-, 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter legs, in that order, and is a fitting event with which to honor Tuppeny. "My dad would've taken particular pleasure in this specific honor," Barbara Tuppeny said yesterday. "Because, even though he accomplished a great deal in his 50-year coaching career -- and throughout his life -- he felt a unique sense of accomplishment by adding the women's events to the Relay Carnival. "By adding [the women's events] to the Carnival, it elevated the women's world of track and field to a totally new level -- locally, nationally and internationally." * One stellar women's program that will finally attend the Relays this year is UCLA. The Bruins have had a standing invitation to the Penn Relays for decades, but had not accepted until this year. "I've got some kids from the Midwest and East Coast, and I promised them that we'd come out here one day," UCLA head coach Jeanette Bolden said. "Another reason is that, being on the West Coast, we don't get the opportunity to see some of the teams that we're going to compete against in NCAAs." Several Bruins competed at the Penn Relays in high school, including Sheena Johnson from Gar-Field High School (Va.), who was a three-time Penn Relays 400 intermediate hurdles champion and is expected to contend in that event this year.

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