The Penn men's track team will look to get its feet wet when it travels to Princeton on Saturday for the Princeton Holiday Classic. Although there is technically no preseason in men's track, the Holiday Classic will mostly be used as a measuring stick of where the Quakers are and where they need to go.
"It's a chance to have fun, see where they are, and get the competitive juices going," Assistant Coach Jamie Cook said.
Penn will look to give its freshmen some much needed experience during the meet. The Quakers have added a lot of depth to their roster, but only competitions like the one this weekend will tell if any of the newcomers on the team will make a significant impact.
The meet is "especially important for the freshmen," senior co-captain Chris Edmonds said. "It is important to see how they compete against Division I college athletes instead of their local league or area."
Although freshmen Mike Bale and Cody Schovitz have been especially impressive in preseason training, Coach Cook is quick to praise the excellent work ethic and commitment in all of his newcomers.
"They understand what the tradition is here and they've worked hard to compete with the upperclassmen," Cook said.
For the upperclassmen, the meet will mostly serve as a much needed break from the rigors of preseason training and conditioning.
"If you don't compete and you're training the whole time, you get a little frustrated," Edmonds said.
"Everyone has been training all fall, so [the meet] is a good opportunity to bring out that competitive spirit again," fellow senior and co-captain Matt Wedge said.
The Holiday Classic will be the first step in what many hope to be another successful year for the Quakers, who have taken two out of the last three Indoor Heptagonal Championships. After finishing a disappointing third place last season, the Quakers have one goal in mind: to win.
The Ivy League race "is between us, Princeton and Cornell," Edmonds said. "I expect us to be number one."
The team may be in search of an identity, especially after Brian Abram and Sam Burley received their diplomas last spring. Burley was an All-American, while Abram was an All-Ivy competitor.
However, with solid leadership from captains Edmonds, Wedge, Tom Vonreichbauer and Brian Chaput -- the reigning NCAA champion in the javelin -- Cook remains confident that the team has the work ethic to achieve its lofty goals.
"Track and field is a sport where you get what you put into it," Cook said. "I think if they can put into it what they can, they're going to be pretty happy with the results."
