For the first time in recent years, Penn track and field has picked up multiple recruits from the transfer portal. 2026 College graduate Anna Weirich, who recently committed to Providence for her final season of eligibility, was the most recent transfer to join the program in 2024.
Here’s who will be joining the Quakers this fall.
Caledon Ruwende: Harding University
Incoming junior sprinter Caledon Ruwende could already be in the program record books.
Ruwende joins the Quakers off of an incredible outdoor campaign which culminated in a 15th-place finish in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Earlier in the season, Ruwende stunned SEC standouts at the Arkansas Twilight meet after clocking a 20.66-second time in the 200 under legal wind conditions.
Ruwende’s personal best is over a tenth of a second faster than the current outdoor program record set by rising sophomore Simeon Adams, which stands at 20.80 seconds.
Although Ruwende’s strength is the 200, he also has the potential to reset a program record in the 100-meter dash this spring. The Zimbabwean’s personal record in the event — a blistering wind-legal 10.33 — is only five hundredths of a second off 1979 College graduate James Brown’s wind-aided mark from 1977.
Doug Martin: University of Wisconsin-Parkside
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Incoming junior distance runner Doug Martin is an incredible asset for Penn’s mid-distance squad.
A three-time All-American in the 800-meter run, Martin made a splash at the 2026 Bryan Clay Invitational with a 1:48.63 finish in the event. If he had represented the Red and Blue on that fateful day in Azusa, Calif., Martin’s time would rank ninth in program history in the 800.
Martin’s outdoor season concluded with a 13th-place finish in the 800 at the NCAA Division II National Championships. He joins a strong crew of 800 and mile specialists, including rising sophomores Joseph Socarras and Vinay Raman, who qualified for the NCAA East Regional in their first outdoor seasons.
With a strong distance crew in tow, the Quakers could be a threat to the Ivy League podium this cross country season.
Joseph DeCasas: Detroit Mercy
Incoming sophomore sprinter/jumps specialist Joseph DeCasas took the Horizon League by storm last spring. He’s moved on to Ivy League ambitions.
DeCasas made a mark after winning the Horizon League title in the long jump by over a foot in a new outdoor personal-best 7.49-meter leap. He displayed remarkable consistency over the course of the outdoor season, never jumping below 6.9 meters while improving his outdoor record almost every meet.
The Shelby Township, Mich., native was also an integral part of the Titans’ sprint squad, running in the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relays at the Drake Relays in April. The Quakers notably didn’t contest a 4x100-meter relay at the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championships in May — perhaps DeCasas and Ruwende will change that.
