The regular season might be over, but the real fun is just beginning.
Penn track and field ended its regular indoor season last Friday at the 2026 Philadelphia Metro meet, hosted at Penn.
Junior sprinter Nayyir Newash-Campbell broke his own program record to win the 400-meter run. Newash-Campbell bested his previous mark by four hundredths of a second, good for No. 1 in the conference and No. 32 in the NCAA.
Although Newash-Campbell is the defending champion in the 400 at Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, he has yet to land on the podium during indoor conference championships. With Heps just around the corner, this could be the season that Newash-Campbell lands on top.
Senior long-distance standout Lily Murphy made a triumphant return to the oval with a victory in the 3-kilometer race, moving to third in the program record books while improving her previous personal record by seven seconds. Murphy’s cross country season was cut short because of injury just before conference championships last October.
Although the Summit, N.J. native didn’t compete last indoor season, she qualified for NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5-kilometer race and the 10-kilometer race in 2024. If Murphy chooses to contest the 3K at Heps next weekend, she’ll be the dark horse in a stacked field of 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships qualifiers.
“I was definitely super nervous after being out of running longer than ever before, but I’ve had my teammates’ support and encouragement every step of the way,” Murphy wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “I’ve worked out in [the Ott Center] for two years, so I was euphoric to finally get to race in the facility for the first time.”
Junior sprinter Jordyn Reed dominated the 60-meter dash, winning the event by over a tenth of a second. With a time of 7.48, it was Reed’s first individual event win of the season. Just last season, Reed ran a time of 7.66 at the same meet. Her performance this year builds on improvement from the 2025 indoor season onward.
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“I’ve been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes, so it was great to see that show up on the track,” Reed wrote. “But I still have a lot of goals for this season, and this was just one small step toward them. I’m grateful for the win, but I know there’s more in me, and I’m focused on continuing to improve.”
Other sprinters showed up and showed out at Friday’s meet. As it was only her second time competing in the event, sophomore sprinter Milan Ramey finished second in the 60m in a personal best of 7.6 seconds. Freshman sprinter/hurdler Ava Nebel won the first 500m of her collegiate career, beating her opponents by over two seconds.
On the men’s side, sophomore multi-eventer Anikwe Duru placed third in the 60m with a season-best time, while junior sprinter/hurdler Sean Golembiewski earned the bronze in the 60-meter hurdles.
After the sprinters vacated the infield, high jumpers stole the show. Senior jumper Mark Hellwig and sophomore multi-eventer Oliver Hassard tied with successful attempts at 2.03 meters, but Hellwig pulled ahead for the win with less scratches overall. Junior jumper Samantha Strydesky secured the gold on the women’s side as the only competitor to make it over the 1.65-meter bar.
Record-breaking action went down on the thrower’s mound as senior thrower Stella Inman shattered the previous meet record mark by over a meter. Junior throwers Ella Neskora and Alexa Dochat also displayed strong performances, filling out the podium for a 1-2-3 finish in the women’s weight throw.
Senior thrower Angeludi Asaah earned silver in shot put with a season-best throw of 15.7 meters. This weekend, Asaah will be returning to Heps as reigning champion in shot put, but freshman Jessica Oji could potentially threaten her reign.
Freshman distance phenom Joseph “Tiago” Socarras lit up the track as a pacer in the 800-meter run. Although Socarras eventually pulled off the track, he propelled teammate sophomore distance Ben Markham to the win in a new personal best 1:49.68, good for eighth in program history.
Junior sprinter Nicholas DeVita finished a mere two hundredths of a second behind Markham for the silver, receiving ninth in program history and a new personal record. Senior distance Nicholas Pizarro also landed on the podium for the Quakers, running 1:50.04 for the bronze.
Socarras’ pacing led the distance squad to strong finishes in the men’s 1,000-meter race as well. Senior Liam Going and freshman Vinay Raman were neck-and-neck, with Going taking first by a tenth of a second. Both athletes walked away with new personal records, placing No. 3 and No. 4 in program history, respectively.
Senior Kyra Compton and junior Lindsay Yakaboski held it down for women’s distance with their respective performances in the mile and 800-meter race. Despite specializing in longer distances, Compton took the silver in the first mile of her collegiate career, running 4:54.27. Yakaboski finished fourth in the 800m, with an indoor best time of 2:13.98.
The Quakers will face off against the rest of the conference for a chance at the Ivy League title at the Armory in New York this weekend.
“I’m stoked to watch and be a part of the team as we give it our all,” Murphy wrote.
