Penn track & field looking to repeat Lehigh success in NYC

Nothing, not even winter break, has been able to slow down the ascendency of the Penn track team under coach Steve Dolan.

Now, as the calendar turns to 2013, the Quakers once again have a chance to prove themselves.

Friday, both the men’s and women’s squads will head up north to the historic Armory in the Big Apple for the New York Road Runners College Night at the Armory.

Though the Red and Blue, unlike other teams on campus, were dispersed across the country for the winter, they have been training just as hard — or even harder — as anyone else at Penn.

“We basically have the same workouts [as on campus],” junior hurdler Gabrielle Piper said. “You have to be really disciplined to make sure you actually do them, because it’s really easy to sit around and eat your parents’ cooking and gain 10 pounds on break.”

The Quakers are counting on having Piper in shape for her first action of the new year.

The school’s all-time record holder in the 60-meter hurdles won her trademark event and posted a second-place finish in the 60m dash during the team’s season-opening contest, the Lehigh Invitational back in December.

The women’s team has experienced plenty of success in other events as well.

Freshman Theresa Picciallo and senior Charlotte Pope are hoping to repeat their 1-2 performance in the shot put from Lehigh, while sophomore Annie Holland aims to keep her momentum going after posting a personal-best height of 1.70m in the high jump in her last go-around.

Meanwhile, the men’s team also has plenty of faces eager to keep up the good work.

In a breakout performance, sophomore Tom Timmins won the 500m at Lehigh, posting a time of 1:05.62.

Now, with the notoriously fast track of the Armory in his sights, the sky is the limit for him.

“[The Armory] is a banked track, which is always nice, drops the times a little bit,” Timmins said. “Everybody feels fast when they get there … and we know, coming from Lehigh, which is a tough track to run on, [that] we can really open it up now.”

And there are plenty of other Red and Blue competitors feeling just as good as Timmins.

Junior Jake Brenza is riding high after the fourth-best toss in program history carried him to a victory in the shot put at Lehigh, while perennial NCAA regional competitor Maalik Reynolds continued his dominance in the high jump, winning the event with a height of 2.10m.

As the team enjoys being back and training together after a separation that seemed far too long, Dolan is seeing plenty to like.

“We had a good start at Lehigh in a lot of different event groups,” Dolan said. “It’ll be fun to come back and see the throws.”

Additionally, Friday’s meet will mark the return to competition for the distance team, which has been off since the end of the cross-country season.

Though the distance squad is blessed with young talent, it has had a significant layoff that many, including Dolan, are curious to see how it will respond to.

“I’m not expecting world-record performances,” Dolan said. “But it’s a good place to get started.”

And in a season filled with new starts for the Quakers, there just may be some better finishes on the horizon.

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