Sports Briefs

'Wyoming Cowboy' leads M. Track into season As Sam Burley raced past the competition last year on the final straightaway at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships, an ESPN announcer labeled the then-junior Penn men's track star "the Wyoming Cowboy." Although the Wyoming native could not catch South Carolina's Botswanan-star Otukile Lekote, his second-place 1:45.39 finish thrust him into the national track and field spotlight, making him the fastest American in the event at the time. This year's Burley-led Penn squad begins its quest to win the Heptagonal Championships for the third-consecutive year at the Quaker Invitational Sunday at Franklin Field. Despite suffering several losses to graduation, the Quakers are poised to repeat as Heptagonal Champions. "We have a good shot, and we're gonna take it," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. The Quakers will "train through" Sunday's early season meet, which they hope will culminate in peak performances at championships meets beginning with the all-important Heps in early May. The Quakers hope to improve on last year's seventh-place finish at their host meet. However, Penn has its eyes on the bigger prize. "A lot of things have to happen [for us to win]," Powell said. "There's 20 events; we're gonna bang for all of them." -- Lewis Hart W. Lax opens Ivy League season against the Elis The Penn women's lacrosse team will begin its run through the Ivy League tomorrow as Yale travels to Franklin Field to take on the Quakers. Coming off a disappointing 7-6 loss to Temple Wednesday night, Penn will need to rebound if they want to compete with a highly talented Yale team. The Elis are currently ranked No. 13 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association with a 3-1 record. However, the Elis will almost surely move up the rankings when next week's poll is released. Yale has now won three straight games, including victories over No. 12 Notre Dame Tuesday and a 15-9 victory over No. 15 Vanderbilt. Yale's lone loss came in their season opener, as No. 14 James Madison cruised to a 14-7 victory. -- James Freeman W. Track warms up for spring season with Invite The women of Penn's track team are "just going to get their feet wet" this Sunday at the Quaker Invitational, according to coach Gwen Harris. At their first meet of the outdoor season, they will compete against 10 other teams in the area. "This meet is not as much about the competition," Harris said. "We'll find out what we need to work on for the rest of the season." After a decent indoor season, the Quakers return with greater depth. They have gained a few athletes who did not compete during the winter and anticipate greater success. "We learned a lot from indoor track and we're ready to attack the outdoor season," senior Amelia Zellander said. "We've talked about what we need to work on and we're ready to put theory into practice." Pole vaulter Ingrid Gustafson is excited for the meet, happy to be running on her home track. Along with other vaulters, Gustafson will only be competing in running events to work on speed. "We're starting to focus on having a team goal and on supporting one another. " -- Lizzie Rodgers Gymnastics set to avenge early season loss to Temple The Penn gymnastics team has been putting up big numbers lately in its dual-meets, setting two program records in its last two home meets. Saturday, however, the Quakers will be concerned with one very small number -- 0.8. Eight-tenths of a point was the difference in Penn's first meeting with Temple this season, held on Feb. 7 at Temple, as the Quakers fell, 191.875-191.075. In the Red and Blue's final home appearance of the season, Penn -- 4-1 in dual meets -- will look to avenge its early season loss to its cross-town rivals. The No. 61 Owls come into the meet averaging a score of 190.385, just ahead of the No. 65 Quakers who average a 189.175. This meet will also have implications in regional standings, as Penn will look to rise from 10th in the northeast by beating the No. 8 Owls. -- David Burrick W. Golf hits the links in first match of the spring A budding golf program that was started just four years ago, the Penn women's golf team has quickly climbed the ranks in the Ivy League. Beginning this weekend at the Georgetown Invitational in Leesburg, Va., the spring season looks promising, as the Quakers hope to improve on last year's fourth place finish at the Ivy League Championship. The Red and Blue return all of last year's crew with the addition of a trio of freshman -- this year, they hope to push over the hump as one of the Ivy League's elite teams. "We're shooting for at least third place [in the Ivy League Championship], but hopefully first," freshman Jenna Skorupa said. The Quakers are led by lone senior Stacy Kress and a talented pair of sophomores, Melissa Aylor and Lauren Eveland. Aylor and Eveland placed eighth and 11th respectively in last year's Ivy League Championship. Added depth also comes from juniors Laura Dolan, Jessica Penzell and Valerie Wong. The future of the women's team lies in the hands of freshman golfers -- Skorupa, Kim Thompson and Alexis Wukich. -- Whitney Kriengkrairut