Penn track and field posts strong day one at Relays

The Penn Relays have a way of sneaking up on the Penn community as a whole, and this year was no different. Tucked between Spring Fling and final exams, it’s understandable; this is an especially busy time of year for students on campus.

However, Penn track and field has had this weekend circled on its calendar for just about the entire year, and in day one of the largest annual track meet in the world, the Quakers showed no signs of being taken off guard.

“It’s the power of Penn Relays,” Penn coach Steve Dolan said.

Led by sophomore Noel Jancewicz and junior Kelsey Hay, Penn got off to a fast start to the Relays, posting some impressive performances throughout the day on Thursday.

It’s appropriate that Jancewicz led off the proceedings, being that she knows a thing or two about fast starts. Last year, in her first collegiate completion at the Relays, she took first overall in the heptathlon.

While she was not able to defend her title, she did perform well throughout the multi-day event, wrapping up on Thursday with a runner-up finish.

While the electricity around Franklin Field was palpable throughout Thursday, it was slightly hampered by the cold and windy conditions in Philadelphia, conditions that made things especially difficult for the field athletes competing.

However, despite the tough conditions, Hay was able to pick up an impressive fifth-place finish in the women’s javelin amongst a strong field of competitors.

“It’s a little windy, a little cold,” Dolan said. “But I thought being at home, being at Franklin Field, really made a difference.”

Despite the name of the event, most of the actual relays – save for quite a few high school relay heats – will actually be saved for Friday and Saturday, but the Quakers did see some success on the track as well.

Penn’s women took first-place in their heat of the 4x100-meter and will compete again on Friday, while the women’s distance medley relay finished in a respectable seventh position.

“We competed admirably in [the DMR],” Dolan said. “It’s been a long time since we had a women’s team in the championship of the DMR, so that was a lot of fun.”

Star freshman Candace Taylor was all over the place, competing in both the 4x100m and the DMR. She will continue her first collegiate Penn Relays by running again in the 4x100m and in the squad’s highly-touted 4x800m relay.

Later in the evening, as the mob of high-schoolers and their families left the windy confines of the Frank, came the distance-running community’s favorite part of the Relays: Distance Night.

Despite the vast number of events at their disposal – from the steeplechase to the 10,000m – the Quakers ran mainly in the 5,000m based on the progression of the individual runners’ season training.

One exception came in the form of freshman Abby Hong, who notched an eighth-place finish in the 3,000m. Meanwhile, sophomore Brendan Shearn stole the show on the men’s side, placing twelfth in a crowded 5,000m field with a personal record of 14:16.

“We had a whole bunch of personal bests,” Dolan said. “Almost every distance race out there, somebody was doing something.”

With star performers like Sam Mattis and Thomas Awad still waiting in the wings, the Quakers will continue to compete throughout Friday and Saturday.

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