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Penn track titillates crowd in 4x400

(05/02/01 9:00am)

Franklin field was infiltrated by outsiders this weekend, heralding teams from all over the nation and the world. But the spectators didn't have to look far to see a good show. The Penn men's 4x400-meter team had the entire stadium on its feet going into the last leg of the Heptagonal qualifier heat on Friday. Penn was neck and neck with Yale throughout the race, and, with the help of the crowd, was able to squeak out the victory in 3:12.94. "We just wanted to come out and beat Yale, because Yale had the top times," Penn freshman Luqman Kolade said. "We were pumped just to keep it close with them the first two legs and then just let Sam [Burley] and Brian [Abram] take it home." The team, comprised of freshmen Chris Edmonds and Kolade and sophomores Burley and Abram, wore their red and blue uniforms proudly this weekend. They were not only proud to be the home team at such a historic event, but they were also eager to prove themselves on the track. "I ran here in high school, but it was a lot cooler this time" kolade said. "Just running around the stadium and having everyone scream my name -- that was pretty cool and a lot of fun. [The Penn uniform] is so distinctive -- everyone knows that we're Penn and that we're the home team." The Quakers qualified for Saturday's IC4A 4x400 relay with their time in the Heptagonal race. But Penn ended up last in that Saturday heat, despite running only 3/10ths of a second slower than they did on Friday. The Penn men's team definitely felt the pressure that a crowd of nearly 50,000 and the best teams in the nation bring. The sprint medley team dropped the baton during the first handoff last Friday and was therefore disqualified from the race in which they had hoped to do well. "I was really nervous before -- like more nervous than I've ever been in my life," 4x400 lead-off leg Edmonds said. "It was amazing. It was just an experience I'll never forget." The women's team didn't have such an eventful Relays, but the Quakers' 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 relays teams all ran their fastest times for the season. The 4x100 finished in 49.09, and was aided by senior captain JaJuan Gair, who ran the event for the first time this week after bouncing back from an injury. "I was pleased with their performances," Penn women's assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "No place in the whole world can host a track and field meet like this. I've always been very proud of Penn, and I think we represented the university well." Kristin Koch represented Penn in the distance events, running a personal best in the 5,000 with a time of 17:34.03. Julie Siebert-Johnson threw 145'1", her best mark of the season in the javelin. It was the 14th-farthest throw at the Relays. Individually for the men, Adam Chubb finished tied for sixth in the college high jump (6'9"), Aaron Prokopec was eighth in the pole vault (15'9") and Tuan Wreh placed ninth in the triple jump championship (49'9 1/4"). On Thursday, Andy Kish set a personal record by running 31:11.72 in the 10,000.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2001/05/penn_track_titillates_crowd_in_4x400

W. Track unites in victory at Princeton

(04/16/01 9:00am)

The pieces to the puzzle finally came together for the Penn women's track team last weekend. The Quakers defeated rival Princeton, 89-61, on Saturday at Old Nassau. So far this outdoor season, Penn hasn't been able to perform well as a cohesive team. Whether hampered by bad weather or injuries, the squad just couldn't seem to all perform well at the same time. But that all changed on Saturday. When the Red and Blue stepped off the bus in Princeton, N.J., into sunny weather and warm conditions, the past few weeks of hardship melted away. The Quakers soaked up the sunshine and turned in a stellar performance by clobbering their hosts. "One of the most important factors to our win this weekend was that we finally had nice weather," Penn sophomore Julie Siebert-Johnson said. "It really meant a lot to this team that's been training through the rain and the cold this whole week. The sun broke through and gave everyone a lot of extra energy." Yinka Orafidiya excelled once again this weekend. She won the hammer throw with a school-record-breaking toss of 165'10" -- a performance added to an extremely strong showing from the entire Penn throwing squad. Senior captain Monica Maccani won the discus in 140'5" and Siebert-Johnson ousted her opponents in the javelin by throwing 140'4". Penn was boosted by strong performances from their veterans as well as their freshmen, especially in the distance events. Because distance has been a weak point for the Quakers all season long, they rely on their sprinters and jumpers to rake in the most points for the team. This weekend freshman Abigail Gleeson broke the streak of mediocre distance running by winning the 3000-meter event in 10:15.78. Fellow freshman Caroline Rebello, as usual, won the pole vault. "We were very happy with the meet this weekend, we had a lot of really good performances," Penn senior Mercy Okoye said. "The freshmen and the distance team had a particularly good weekend. They really broke out." Seniors Bassey Adjah and JaJuan Gair worked together to dominate the sprinting events for Penn. Adjah won three out of her four events -- the 100 meters (12.74 seconds), the 200 (26.31 seconds) and the long jump (18'10"). She also finished second in the 100-meter high hurdles behind teammate Gair. "We had big performances in every event," Siebert-Johnson said. "We all felt so good that we didn't have to worry coming down the stretch, we pretty much new that we would win." Penn is now hoping to build upon the success of its win against the Tigers as the Quakers take on Cornell next weekend. Now that all the puzzle pieces have fallen together, its just a matter of making sure they stay there. "Our attitude was great from the beginning," Okoye said. "It's been a while since we've beaten Princeton and it felt really, really good. Hopefully it will carry over next weekend against Cornell."

https://www.thedp.com/article/2001/04/w-track-unites-in-victory-at-princeton

Penn-Princeton redux: W. Track heads to Jersey

(04/12/01 9:00am)

When the Penn women's track team travels to New Jersey on Saturday, it will have only one thing on its mind -- beating Princeton. The intense rivalry between the Quakers and the Tigers is just as strong on the track as it is in the basketball arena or the football field. "Its pretty fierce," Penn sophomore Meredith Bunche said. "I know in indoor [sports], we go into their stadium and rearrange the chairs to say 'Go Penn.'" "Our meets against Princeton are always intense," Penn senior Jennifer Thompson added. "We always want to come out on top." The Quakers have already beaten Princeton earlier this year during the indoor season. Running outdoors, however, is an entirely different story. "Our team tends to do better outdoors, so we're looking for a strong performance this weekend," Penn freshman pole vaulter Caroline Rebello said. "It's going to be close." The Quakers have focused on becoming healthy recently. Strains and pulled muscles have hampered many of the athletes in the most recent meets. "The people with injuries are really taking care of themselves and trying to preserve themselves for when it really counts -- like this weekend," Bunche said. "Those of us who are healthy are training really hard and those that are injured are laying low and taking it easy and getting ready to build up again." The outdoor season is the end to the squad's year-long season, and, as a result, injuries and fatigue are common. The Quakers are also continuously contending with bad luck from Mother Nature. Penn is hoping to finally get a break in the form of some sunny weather this weekend. To win this weekend, the Quakers must also excel all-around, even in events that aren't normally their strengths. "We're strong where they're weak and they're strong where we're weak," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "Everybody has to contribute and everybody has to rise to the occasion." During practice this week, the Quakers have tried to strengthen the finer points in each event, as the difference between a win and a loss against the Tigers likely won't be much. The Red and Blue will rely on the parts of the squad that have already proven themselves reliable this season. The throwers, jumpers and sprinters will be integral against a Princeton team that is stronger in the middle-distance and distance events. "I think as a team we are stronger than the Princeton team. We just have to go out there and collectively perform to the best of our abilities," Penn senior co-captain JaJuan Gair said. "If we all go out there and do the best that we can, then we can easily beat them." What it all comes down to is that it really doesn't matter how it gets done, the Quakers just want and need to beat Princeton. "The whole idea is just to go there and beat them," Tenisci said. "That's really the bottom line."

https://www.thedp.com/article/2001/04/pennprinceton-redux-w-track-heads-to-jersey

Softball looks to snap slide against Drexel

(04/11/01 9:00am)

One of the few Penn sports to own a national ranking doesn't receive University funding. In fact, the Penn men's volleyball team doesn't even have a permanent coach. The sport, formerly varsity, is currently club. Penn has a varsity women's volleyball team, but male spikers and setters at the University must settle for club status if they want to compete. Still, the Penn men's club volleyball team has turned its program into one of the top squads in the nation. Next week, the Red and Blue will travel to Kansas City, Mo., to compete against the best men's volleyball squads from all over the country at the national championships. The Quakers won't be entering as the underdog or the "Cinderella" team. At worst, Penn should be ranked in the top-15 after an impressive performance last weekend at its EIVA conference championships in Maryland. After a marathon of playoff matches, Penn emerged second behind James Madison University -- its best finish in the history of club volleyball. "That clinched a No. 1 seed in our pool going into nationals," junior President Scott Mooney said. "We're definitely very stoked about it." Creating a nationally ranked team has not been easy, but the Penn men's volleyball squad is an exceptional collection of players. Last year, the team gained five new freshmen and a sophomore transfer student. The underclassmen took charge of the team and soon developed it into a much stronger program than before. "Almost all of us came in new last year," senior Ben Oren said. "We learned a lot from the mistakes of our predecessors." One of the greatest challenges for the team is the fact that they do not have a permanent coach. Instead, team captain and setter Jordan Wadsworth, in collaboration with Mooney, assumes the responsibilities of a coach. "I was surprised at how well we perform without a real coach," freshman Brent Wagner said. "We all have our strong points, so we all help each other out. We coach ourselves." And so far this season the tactic has worked. The Red and Blue are successful for one main reason -- they love playing with each other. Going to practice isn't a chore, its just another chance to hang out with friends and play around. "Because of the club atmosphere, we can be a lot more fun and have a lot of enthusiasm about the sport," Oren said. "We spend a lot of time together on and off the court. We keep volleyball very much a part of our lives." The Quakers are so successful because they get along and because they all want to be out there playing. The absence of a coach forces the players to learn from each other and collaborate. "Were a really well-rounded team," freshman Sam Fort said. "We really focus on every different area of play." The Red and Blue are hoping to continue their successful season at nationals, but wins in Kansas City won't come easily. "We're getting a lot more time on the court together and we're working together better," Wadsworth said. "We're peaking about now, which is perfect timing since we're heading into nationals." At the same time, the Quakers are trying to gain some respect from the Penn community. "Club men's volleyball right now produces more wins and represents Penn on a higher level nationally than a majority of the varsity teams," Oren said. "To some extent we should be given something for that." The Quakers aren't necessarily looking for recognition in the form of funds, but they would like to become a little more well known around the campus. "No one really even knows about us," Fort said. "Most people don't even know what I'm talking about when I say I'm on the volleyball team." The club volleyball team believes the Penn community won't be able to ignore a top-10 finish at a national tournament. And that's just what the team plans to accomplish in Kansas City.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2001/04/softball_looks_to_snap_slide_against_drexel-5b776ba3a3db2

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