Despite coaching some of Penn’s fastest athletes, head track and field coach Steve Dolan has always favored steady progress over immediate results, and not even the hustle and bustle of New York City could separate him from this philosophy.
On Saturday, the Quakers traveled to the Big Apple to compete in the Columbia Lions Invitational and test their coach’s commitment at Manhattan’s historic New York Armory.
The invitational provided the first opportunity for the Red and Blue to show what they bring to the table against quality opponents. The nine-team field included Ivy rivals Columbia and Princeton, among other foes. On the whole, Dolan was pleased with how his team responded.
“As we have gone into February, the meets have really jumped up in level of competition and importance, so I thought we really stepped up well,” he said.
Saturday was also the first meet in which Penn fielded close to a complete squad. However, the program is still emphasizing individual development over cumulative team results, especially in a meet like the Columbia Invitational where team scores are not recorded.
With this said, it is not surprising that Dolan deemphasized the relative success of the men’s and women’s squads in the meet.
“It’s tough to say who did better,” he said. “Both teams had certain event groups that were really strong for us.”
As opposed to previous meets in which freshmen largely stole the spotlight for the Quakers, Penn’s veterans took the meet as an opportunity to step up and perform at their best in a step towards a more complete team.
Individual standouts for the men included senior Maalik Reynolds and sophomore Tim Hamlett, who won the high jump and the 500-meter dash, respectively. Sophomore Thomas Awad also performed well, placing second in the 3,000 run.
For the women, freshman Noel Jancewicz continued to demonstrate her versatility as a multi-event athlete with a second place finish in the high jump. Meanwhile, junior Lydia Ali and senior Gabrielle Piper
On the whole, the results of the meet may be too varied to summarize and fully decipher, and Dolan was quick to put them in perspective.
“There were a number of great performances and a number of events where people know that they can go back to work and improve next time,” he said. “That’s kind of the nature of it.”
More importantly, the meet provided another opportunity for the athletes to recover from the loss of their teammate, as they performed in front of many supportive alumni with ribbons on their uniforms in honor of fallen teammate Madison Holleran.
“It’s been an emotional past couple weeks for us, so it was good for the first time to have our entire team at the meet supporting each other,” Dolan said.
The team will take part in another big meet next Saturday at Penn State, and will try to take another small developmental step in the process.
SEE ALSO
Penn track and field faces first major test of indoor season
Not yet at full strength, but Penn track still going strong
Penn track & field perseveres following teammate’s death
‘Fast Times before Finals’ yields positive results for Penn track
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.