This weekend, Penn's track teams will embark on the ultimate alternate spring break, as they head north to compete in Boston. The women will compete in the ECAC Championships, while the men will race in the IC4A Championships.
Penn Women's track coach Gwen Harris says there are two goals that every track team aspires to achieve at every big meet.
"To run fast and to score points," Harris said. "And if you run fast, you will score points."
Teams score points by finishing in the top eight, thereby qualifying for finals.
At this weekend's championships, the Penn track teams plan to do just that.
Coming off fifth place finishes at last weekend's Heptagonals Indoor Championships, the Quakers expect to find themselves facing some of the best teams on the East Coast. The competition will be fast, but, according to Harris, that only helps the Quakers run faster.
The Penn women will be well represented at the competition, as the team has runners and jumpers qualified in nearly every single event.
Senior runner Jesse Carlin, currently ranked eighth in the country in Division I indoor 800-meter run (2:06.57) will have a chance to solidify her provisionary qualification for indoor Nationals in the 800m. Though she has never qualified for the indoor NCAA 800m run, she did compete in last year's outdoor NCAA 800m.
"To hit this time this early in the season, means I'll be doing a lot better in outdoors," Carlin said.
Carlin will also be running the 800m leg of the distance medley relay.
On the men's side of the races, although the Red and Blue qualified runners in several different events, Penn will only be bringing one team to compete: the distance medley relay team.
"We have several kids sick, or injured, a lot of folks did multiple events this past weekend, its hard to keep going," said men's coach Charlie Powell.
Powell noted that Penn's opponents - led by Cornell - have become much stronger and faster over the last several years.
But junior Kevin Benjamin, who will be running the 400m leg of the distance relay, isn't focusing on his competition.
"I'm not really concerned whose going to be there," Benjamin said. "I just go up there, it doesn't matter who I'm racing against, as long as I've got to beat them."
How does this group of four runners feel about representing the entire men's track team this weekend?
"We're going into this trying to win it," said junior Bryan Scotland. "If we can represent our school by coming in as the top one or top three or run a fast time, I think we'd be really happy with that."
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