Three weeks before the internationally acclaimed Penn Relays take place at Franklin Field, the men's and women's track and field teams are looking to break in the home turf a bit at this weekend's Penn Invitational.
The men's team will certainly want to defend its home turf coming from last week's disappointing third-place performance in Annapolis for the Navy Invitational.
"We just want to have a good, solid outing," head coach Charlie Powell of the men's team said. "We're hoping for the best, and we just want to show them our competitiveness."
The women will be coming down from a week-long high after leaving many schools in the dust at their Maryland Invitational romp this past Saturday. Among the success stories were juniors Jesse Carlin and Stacy Kim, both of whom took home first in their respective 800-meter and 5000m runs.
"We're trying to improve upon what we've already done, to concentrate on things that will make us successful," women's head coach Gwen Harris emphasized.
Both teams have traditionally struck high notes in previous years at their first outdoor home meet, and the Penn Invitational is no stranger to top visiting programs.
Villanova, Delaware, and La Salle will be in attendance, as well as Navy, which took first in its Invitational last weekend with stellar performances in the 800m run and long jumps.
The rainy weather, however, could present some slip-n-slide action for the field and sprint teams if the forecast plays out as predicted.
"If it's not a really ugly day, I think we'll have some pretty darn good performances," Powell remarked, explaining how the conditions will affect certain events. "The weather doesn't stranglehold the middle-distance runs like it does the sprints and jumps. And we'll look to perform well there."
The middle-distance has repeatedly been a hit with the Quakers, with junior Tim Kaijala and Carlin grabbing up NCAA provisional times all throughout the winter and early spring seasons.
The Invitational, which will take place all afternoon on Saturday, will present the opportunity for improvement as the Quakers train for the outdoor Heptagonal Championships. To be able to prepare and get in the rhythm at home, both coaches stress, will be an extra incentive.
"We're just trying to get ready for Heps, and we're praying that it's going to a nice day and hopefully we'll get some things done," Harris said.
"We've had some fun times out there, and it's always great to be home."
