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(12/07/99 10:00am)
Coming off of a cross country campaign riddled with injuries and disappointments, the Penn women's track team traveled to Brown this weekend and has given hope to the indoor season. The extremely young -- but talented -- Penn squad competed admirably in the Alden Invitational, finishing with one first-place finish and five second-place finishes out of the 16 events. Jeraldine Cofie turned in Penn's top performance, winning the 500-meter run. Her time of 1:17.73 was good enough to take home the crown. "This was a really good opener for us," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "We had some really good performances and it is great to get this first meet under our belt after weeks of just practicing." This initial meet was especially important for the Quakers because it was the first collegiate meet for Penn's many freshmen. "I think nerves played a factor with our younger runners," Tenisci said. "But I definitely think we gained some maturity from this meet." A lack of experience on Penn's part was surely the cause of some of the nervousness. This was further compounded by the fact that the Quakers faced some stiff competition, which included Massachusetts, Connecticut and defending Ivy League champion Brown. "I think it works out well for our team that we have so many freshmen," Penn freshman Dennean Davis said. "Because we have so many freshmen, we feel really comfortable. We don't really feel like we are the lower class." Davis opened up her collegiate career with a stellar performance in the long jump. She placed second overall in the event and achieved a new personal best of 17'9.5"in the process. "Dennean had a great meet and that was a real nice surprise," Tenisci said. "She is a very promising athlete." Although this Penn squad features many exciting young runners, the key to its success lies in the performance of the upperclassmen. Co-captains JaJuan Gair and Ruthie Neuhaus turned in solid efforts for the team. Neuhaus finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 38'5", while Gair finished fourth in the 55-meter hurdles as well as eighth in the 55-meter dash. "I was really happy with my meet," Neuhaus said. "I opened the season up well and things can only improve from here." Neuhaus' performance was good enough to qualify her for the ECAC Championships held at the end of the season. "That was definitely the best that Ruthie has ever opened her season," Tenisci said. "It is great that she came out and qualified for the ECACs in her first meet." Mercy Okoye and Qianna Snooks also logged impressive performances for the Quakers, finishing second in the 800 and 300, respectively. Junior Ami Desai was another bright spot for the squad, finishing second in the pole vault. Her mark of 10'6" was a mere six inches from winning the event. "We really feel like this was just a strong overall opening meet," Tenisci said. "We saw a lot of good things and showed that we have a lot of promising athletes." Next up for the team is a modified meet at Princeton this weekend. This means that the Quakers will have fewer athletes competing in the much smaller field. The entire team will return to action on January 8 at Yale.
(12/01/99 10:00am)
the Quakers, who lost 13 seniors to graduation, will rely to a greater extend on underclassmen this season. The Penn women's track and field team will travel to Brown this Saturday to compete in the first indoor meet of the season. The Quakers will need to perform well from the get-go if their 1999-2000 campaign is to be successful. The team, which lost 13 seniors to graduation last year, is young and fairly inexperienced. This means that many freshmen and sophomores will have to perform if Penn is to have a successful season. "We lost many runners who will be very difficult to replace," assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "But we think that our young runners are ready." The squad has been training since early September. The Quakers hope this will mean that the young runners have had enough time to make the transition to college track and field. "This meet should let us see exactly how we are doing," junior Bassey Adjah said. "We have been training for a while, so it will be great to finally compete." Competing in the meet this Saturday will be six other teams, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and Brown, the defending Ivy League champion. "We know we are competing against some good teams," Tenisci said. "But it is everyone's first meet, so anything could happen." Many members of the Penn team will be competing at the collegiate level for the first time. One concern for the Quakers is whether or not the young runners will be able to deal with the pressure of an actual meet. "I really think that the freshmen are ready for the meet," junior Melissa MacIntyre said. "Because we have so many freshmen, they don't feel left out at all and I think that has helped them." Although many of Penn's young runners will have to perform well early if the Quakers are to succeed, the squad will also rely on the experience of key upperclassmen. Captains Richelle Clements, Ruthie Neuhaus and JaJuan Gair will provide leadership. Their job will be to not only perform, but to provide guidance and advice to the young runners as they make the jump to collegiate competition. "The first meet is always tough for freshmen," Tenisci said. "In college, everyone has credentials and everyone is talented, that is hard to get used to." Penn's team will feature two Heptagonal champions from a year ago. Junior Ami Desai will be looking to repeat her championship in the pole vault, while Bassey Adjah -- another junior -- will try to garner a second consecutive victory in the long jump. Desai holds Penn's indoor record in the pole vault at 10'11.7'', while Adjah has an indoor personal record of 18'5'' in the long jump. Clements should lead the squad's sprint team. She had a successful 1999, placing third in the 100-meter dash and fourth in the 200 at Outdoor Heps while running a leg on Penn's school-record breaking 4x100 meter relay team. Juniors Gair, Adjah and MacIntyre will form the nucleus of a strong contingent of hurdlers. The Quakers hope that freshmen Kai Gonsorowski and Crystal Marsh will add versatility and talent to those events. The middle distance runners will be led by sophomores Jeraldine Cofie and Samantha Desposito. This duo of talented runners should provide inspiration to a number of promising freshmen, as well as to Phillips, Mercy Okoye and Karen Thomas. The Quakers' jumping squad will be led by Adjah, Neuhaus and MacIntyre. Neuhaus has an indoor PR of 39'4.5'' in the triple jump, while MacIntyre has long jumped 18'0.25'' indoors. These explosive athletes should continue to compete well for Penn. The deep and talented throwing squad will also be an essential part of the team. Juniors Monica Maccani, Amy Nichols and Yinko Orifidiya will be counted on to provide strong leadership. "This is really a gauge meet for us," Tenisci said. "This should give us a good idea of where we are and what we need to do."
(11/16/99 10:00am)
Rossner, a runner on the women's across-country team, set a personal best. Last weekend, Penn women's cross country captain Meredith Rossner finished 64th out of 162 runners in the NCAA District II Championships at Lehigh, a qualifying meet for the national championships. Although Rossner was unable to qualify for the national meet, she did set a personal record with a time of just over 18 minutes and 50 seconds for the five-kilometer course. "My goal for the entire season has been to break 19 minutes," Rossner said. "It feels great to finally do that." Carmen Douma of Villanova won the race with a time of 16 minutes and 57 seconds. Rossner was Penn's only competitor in the race. Due to the Quakers' poor performance at the Heptagonal Championships two weeks earlier, the coaches decided to hold everyone except Rossner out of the race. "It was really weird for me to run a race without the rest of my team there," Rossner said. "It felt different running by myself." Rossner, a junior, is hoping that her race at Lehigh will help prepare her to do even better in the fall of 2000. "This was without a doubt the most competitive race of the season," she said. "I definitely gained valuable experience for next year." Rossner was clearly the one constant this year for a Penn squad which saw two top runners quit the team and numerous others suffer from injury problems. "Meredith has been there for us all year," Penn assistant coach Crickett Batz-Shaklee said. "It was great to see her finish the season at the top of her game." Georgetown, which won the meet, edged out Villanova by placing five runners in the top 15. One concern for Penn going into the race was that Rossner would not be completely rested. "When the season extends to this point it becomes very difficult to stay on top of your game," Batz-Shaklee said. "But Meredith definitely came out focused and ready to run her best." With the cross country season officially over for Penn, all attention now turns towards the indoor season. Rossner, who will also run indoor track, will have a week off before she begins training again for the winter season.
(11/11/99 10:00am)
Penn is sending just one representative to the NCAA District II race. For most of the Penn women's cross-country team, the season is over. Junior captain Meredith Rossner, however, has at least one more crucial meet remaining. This Friday, Rossner will compete in the NCAA District II Championships at Lehigh. This tournament is a qualifying tournament for the NCAA Championships that will be held later this month. If Rossner, who finished 49th at last weekend's Heptagonal Championships, hopes to advance to the NCAA Championships, she definitely has her work cut out for her. It is not at all easy to qualify for the championships as an individual. The majority of runners will qualify by being on one of the top teams. Depending upon the results, at least the top two teams and the top four runners not on one of the top teams will qualify for the NCAAs. "We all know that it is very difficult to qualify as an individual, but Meredith should definitely gain some valuable experience for next year," Penn assistant coach Crickett Batz-Shaklee said. "I feel like Meredith is really ready to start running her best." Penn usually sends several runners to compete in the District II Championships. However, this year's team is extremely young and is coming off of a very disappointing Heps performance. "The Heps were a very difficult race for our team," Batz-Shaklee said. "The rest of our team needs a mental and physical break so that they can start training for the indoor season." At Heps, Penn finished in last place out of nine teams. Rossner was the only Quaker to finish in the top 50. Penn's decision to run only Rossner at Lehigh is understandable. After Heps, in which Penn was clearly the weakest team in the field, it seems unlikely that the Quakers would be able to handle this weekend's competition, which will be even stronger. "Our effort at the Heps will never be repeated," Batz-Shaklee said. "No one wants to end their season on a down note like this." Unless Rossner can somehow qualify for the National Championships, this race will represent the end of a cross-country season that has seen the Quakers suffer through one problem after another. Two top runners, Susie Cook and Neha Amin, quit the team partway through the season, and numerous others have been plagued by injuries. "We have had something go wrong at virtually every meet," Rossner said. "It feels like we have been cursed." The Heps were certainly no exception. Penn found out two days before the race that Stephanie Bell would be unable to run due to respiratory problems. "Even with Stephanie, we would have been last in the Heps," Batz-Shaklee said. "But that was a devastating blow to our team, especially mentally." The loss of Bell meant that only one runner out of Penn's preseason top five, Rossner, was able to finish the season. Rossner has definitely been Penn's most consistent runner this season and that is why she will be running at Lehigh. "I am excited to compete in the District Championships," Rossner said. "It is a great opportunity for me to run against some tough competition."
(11/02/99 10:00am)
Meredith Rossner was the only Penn runner to finish in the top 50 as the Quakers finished last. Last Friday, the Penn women's cross-country team headed to the Bronx and competed in its most important tournament, the Heptagonal Championships. The Quakers struggled as a team, finishing in last place in the nine-team field, which included all eight Ivies and Navy. The young Penn squad had difficulty handling the unfriendly terrain of the Van Cortlandt Park course. The Quakers finished with 285 points, well behind champion Brown (36 points) and not far from the maximum possible score of 305. The Quakers were dealt a harsh blow two days before the meet when they learned that Stephanie Bell, one of their top runners, would be out due to respiratory problems. This meant that Meredith Rossner, who finished 49th, was the only Penn runner competing at Heps who was in the squad's preseason top five. Fielding such a young squad, expectations for Penn were not extremely high entering the race. "Even with Stephanie Bell we would've been last," Penn assistant coach Cricket Batz-Shaklee said. "But it definitely didn't help our team to lose another critical member." Brown was able to win the race by placing four runners in the top 10. All seven of Brown's runners finished in the top 20, an amazing feat considering that Penn placed just one runner, Rossner, in the top 50. The Quakers have been beleaguered by injuries all year long. The team also suffered from losing two top runners, Neha Amin and Susie Cook, who quit the squad early in the season. The one bright spot for Penn had to be the relatively strong performance by Rossner. She finished the five-kilometer course in 19 minutes and 25 seconds. Rossner is the only Penn runner who will advance to compete in the NCAA District II Championships in two weeks. That race is a qualifier for the national championships on November 22. "I think Meredith is really ready to run well," Batz-Shaklee said "It is extremely hard to qualify as an individual but Meredith should definitely gain some experience for next year." For all the Penn runners except Rossner, the Heps were the final race of the season. "No one wants to end their season on a down note like this," Batz-Shaklee said. "I think it is important that you at least try to compete." The Penn squad, which featured no seniors, one junior, two sophomores and four freshmen, went into the race as big underdogs. The team had discussed this and agreed that it was important to finish the season off with a solid effort. Batz-Shaklee doesn't believe that the effort was there. "Even though we would have been last place, we should have at least as a team competed with pride and competed with the idea of finishing up well for each person and for their teammates," she said. "I think they just gave up." The difficult Van Cortlandt course is one of the toughest the Quakers have had to run on all year. It features a grueling, narrow uphill section which is both physically and mentally exhausting for a runner. Hopefully for Penn, the squad learned something from its performance at Heps. "We are a very young team," Batz-Shaklee said. "But this will never be repeated." Because all of the runners except Rossner have finished their season, much of the team's focus shifts now to preparing for the indoor season. "Most of the team needs a mental and physical break," Batz-Shaklee said. "Then they can start training for the indoor season."
(10/28/99 9:00am)
The Quakers head back to Van Cordlandt Park, the site of their last race. After two weeks of no competition and plenty of preparation, the Penn women's cross-country team will return to the Bronx and compete in its most important meet of the season, the Heptagonal Championships. This Friday, the team will be running at Van Cortlandt Park, the site of their last meet, the ECAC Championships. In that race, Penn had some strong performances but ended up 11th out of 12 teams. "It was pretty brutal competition for us," Penn assistant coach Crickett Batz-Shaklee said. "The race was tough for our team." Penn is hoping that the experience it gained from the ECACs will equate to a strong performance in the Heps. Though the team could have run in a much easier race than the ECACs, Batz-Shaklee believed that running at Van Cortlandt would give her squad an advantage in the Heps. "The ECACs were a preview to the Heptagonal Championships," she said. "I thought that it was crucial that we get some experience against stiff competition." Though ECAC champion Duke will not be running in the Heps, all eight Ivy League schools -- including a Cornell squad that placed second two weeks ago -- will be competing. Cornell has run well all season and, given its strong performance at Van Cortlandt, is definitely the favorite. If the Quakers hope to compete for the championship, they will have to master a challenging course which presents runners with numerous tough obstacles. "This course was kind of a surprise to the underclassmen," junior captain Meredith Rossner said. "We told them it was hard but they didn't really know how difficult it was. Now we have something that we can actually visualize for the Heps." The key for Penn will be to run as a team. Because only the top five of eight scores are used in computing a team's total score, the strategy is to have at least five runners near the front. "We need the team to really pull together," Batz-Shaklee said. "I don't even know who our top five will be, anyone could step in there and help us out." Penn is hoping that its young runners, including the three freshmen, will be able to improve their times in their second shot at Van Cortlandt. If this happens and upperclassmen Rossner and Stephanie Bell can improve on their strong performances from two weeks ago, Penn should be in good shape. One obstacle Penn will have to overcome is the steep and narrow middle section of the Van Cortlandt course. This section is known for being long and grueling. Also, given the narrow trail, passing is virtually impossible. In order to prepare for their most important and final meet of the season, the team has been in their final "phase" of training. This means focusing less on mileage and working mainly on speed. The Quakers hope that this will give the team fresh legs at Van Cortlandt. "Hopefully, we will be ready on Friday," Rossner said. "Our legs should be springy and we'll be ready to go." Because of the unique challenges presented by the course, Penn will have to use a different strategy from the one it has employed thus far this season. The goal will be to run harder than usual at the beginning rather than to conserve energy for the finish. With a quick start, the Quakers could be in a good position for the uphill section where passing is difficult. With the right strategy and some clutch performances, Penn could surprise some teams this weekend.
(10/21/99 9:00am)
No one said the ECAC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park would be easy, but the Penn women's cross country team may not have known just how hard the race would be. The team headed to the Bronx this past weekend and walked away with an 11th place finish out of 12 teams. The Quakers were paced by senior Stephanie Bell's 36th-place finish. Bell ran the 5-kilometer race in just over 19 minutes and 14 seconds. Junior captain Meredith Rossner was Penn's second finisher, crossing the line in 45th place, 12 seconds after Bell. "Stephanie ran really well and Meredith has been very consistent for us," Penn assistant coach Cricket Batz-Shaklee said. The ECAC Championships are always competitive, and this year's race was no exception. Duke -- ranked No. 30 in the nation in the FinishLynx Poll -- prevailed in the race, just edging out Cornell and Virginia. Duke freshman Sheela Agrawal won the meet in 17 minutes and 42 seconds. "It was pretty brutal competition for us," Batz-Shaklee said. Van Cortlandt Park is one of the toughest courses in the East, with varied gradients and a narrow, uphill section notorious for making passing all but impossible. "The course was a surprise to the underclassmen," Rossner said. "We told them it was hard, but they didn't really know just how difficult it would be." More important to the Quakers than placing high in the meet was gaining valuable experience for the critical Heptagonal Championships, which will also be held at Van Cortlandt later this month. "This was a preview to the Heptagonals," Batz-Shaklee said. "I could have put us in a much easier race, but I thought that it was important that we get the experience against some tough competition." Not only will the Heptagonals be held at the same course, but with some of the same teams running, it should be a similar race. All eight Ivy League schools, plus Navy, compete in the Heps, which will be held on October 29. Penn's experience at Van Cortlandt could be a big plus come Heps. The young Quakers squad -- three of the team's eight competitors at Heps will be freshmen -- definitely benefitted from last week's race. "The experience should help us a lot in the Heptagonals," Rossner said. "Now we have something that we can actually visualize." If Penn is to improve on its 11th-place finish, the Quakers definitely need to reduce their team score. At the ECAC Championships, Bell and Rossner were the only Quakers to run the 5k course in under 20 minutes. "We definitely need to improve our team spread," Batz-Shaklee said. "I will be very pleased if we have our top five runners at less than 20 minutes." In order to meet that goal, the Quakers have started their final phase of training. This means cutting back on the mileage and working principally on speed. The idea is that by cutting down on distance running, Penn should be fresh and ready to go come the Heptagonals.
(10/14/99 9:00am)
It's a pretty safe bet that the Penn women's cross-country team is thrilled about the upcoming fall break. Because after the Quakers' meet this weekend, they just might need some rest. This Friday, the team will be in the Bronx, N.Y., for the ECAC Championships, tackling a grueling course in Van Cortlandt Park. The race is a regional meet in which Penn will face several Ivy League schools for the first time this season. And Van Cortlandt Park is both unique and challenging. The course combines several different gradients and types of terrain. "Our last course was really flat," junior captain Meredith Rossner said. "This course is really hilly so you have to know how to use the hills to your advantage." The Quakers are looking to improve on their 21st-place finish out of 33 teams in the Paul Short Invitational last Saturday. This meet is especially meaningful for Penn because the crucial Heptagonal Championships will also be held at Van Cortlandt Park on October 29. Penn will be hoping for a strong showing tomorrow. More importantly, however, the Quakers will be looking to gain valuable experience for the Heptagonals. Rossner understands the importance of Friday's race. "This is perfect for us to go there and get to know the course," Rossner said. "It is not as high pressure of an event for us as the Heptagonals so this should be a great opportunity." The Quakers are hoping to finally be healthy for a meet. Penn has yet to have all of its top runners finish in any of the meets so far this season. Katie Henderson, who was unable to finish last weekend's race due to an ankle injury, is expected to run. If everything goes according to plan, Penn will finally have Henderson, Rossner and Stephanie Bell all running. Bell led Penn last week with a 49th-place finish. In order for Penn to finish well, the team will have to deal with a fast but rigorous course. "Mentally, Van Cortlandt is a very difficult course," assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "You kind of shoot out of the mountains and have to run fast until the finish." "It will definitely be a rough course," freshman Lauren Avallone said. "But getting some people back from injury should really help us out." The key for Penn will be keeping their spread -- or distances between the top five runners -- small. This means getting off to a good start in the race. With the steep incline comprising the middle part of the race, a fast start is a must. Making up ground on the narrow, rocky trail of the steep middle section is extremely difficult. "We need to keep our top three runners closer together and keep the back two runners fairly close as well," Tenisci said. "If we do that, we should be in great shape."
(10/12/99 9:00am)
The Penn women's cross-country team may want to consider moving practice to HUP, given the startling number of injuries that have beset the Quakers already in 1999. Penn headed to Lehigh for the Paul Short Invitational this past weekend and walked away with a 21st-place finish from the field of 33 teams. As has been the case in every meet so far this season, however, the Quakers were short-handed. Freshmen Neha Amin was ill and thus unable to run. Things only got worse for Penn when Katie Henderson reinjured her ankle partway through the race and could not finish. Penn was led in the race by Stephanie Bell, who finished 49th overall. This was a remarkable finish for Bell considering that this was her first meet back after suffering from respiratory problems. Junior captain Meredith Rossner also turned in a solid performance, finishing second for Penn and 67th overall. Team members have been frustrated by the injury problems which have plagued them throughout the young season. "Every weekend we have had a piece of the puzzle missing," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "We need to have our top runners all competing to be at our best." The loss of Henderson partway through the race on Saturday was a major blow to the Quakers. "I have never stopped before in a race," said Henderson. "It is very frustrating." Even though the Quakers were running without Amin and Henderson, they were able to salvage the race. The 21st-place finish is respectable given the competition against whom the Quakers had to run. The field of teams that the Quakers faced this weekend was deeper and more talented than they are used to seeing. Victorious Georgetown -- as well as Wake Forest and James Madison -- has one of the best women's track and cross-country programs in the nation. "There were definitely some bigwigs out there," Tenisci said. "Those kids are really like professional athletes. We have some great athletes but it is kind of different." Georgetown was able to run away with the meet by placing four runners in the top nine. No other school placed more than one athlete in the top nine. Although the Quakers did not finish as high as they had hoped, the general consensus among the team is that the effort level on Saturday was high. "We definitely improved but there is also more room for improvement," Bell said. "It is frustrating because we are capable of a lot more than we have shown." The meet did provide valuable experience for the young runners. "The freshmen are coming along well," Rossner said. "They are learning and helping the team at the same time." With the strong class of young runners Penn has to be excited about the future of the team. "We have great leaders with Rossner and Bell," Tenisci said. "The young kids just need time to grow." With the continued improvement of the freshmen, as well as the probable return from injury of Amin and Henderson, Penn should be a better team as the season progresses.
(10/07/99 9:00am)
The Penn women's cross-country team, which has been plagued by injuries throughout the young season, is rested, recuperated and ready to run. All signs point to a strong showing this weekend for the Quakers when they head to the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh. Stephanie Bell, who was suffering from a respiratory problem, and Katie Henderson, who sprained her ankle two weekends ago, will be in the lineup Saturday. The fact that Bell and Henderson will run means that the Quakers will have their top five runners all healthy for the first time this season. The team is excited to finally go into a meet at full strength. With 33 teams, the Paul Short Invitational is much larger than most meets in which the Quakers run. Several large Division I programs will be competing at Lehigh this weekend. Penn, as the only Ivy League school represented, has a chance to prove itself against some big , scholarship-awarding programs. Freshman Lauren Avallone is looking forward to seeing how Penn will fare against some tough competition. "It's a big race," she said. "It should give us an idea of where we are right now." Penn will be looking to improve on a fourth-place finish out of six teams two weekends ago in the George Bertelsman Invitational at Belmont Plateau. In that race, junior Meredith Rossner led Penn with a fifth-place finish. Avallone, who finished 15th, and Neha Amin, who finished 22nd, also had strong races. "We are depending on our freshmen," Penn assistant coach Cricket Batz-Shaklee said."We had three in our top five last meet and I assume that they will be there again this week." Of the 33 teams competing in the meet, Penn has already run against several of them. It should be interesting to see how a fully healthy Penn squad does against teams they have already seen. While the Quakers did have several strong individual performances in the last meet, the key at Lehigh will be the Quakers' ability to run as a team. This means keeping their top five times -- and thus their top five runners -- relatively close to one another in a pack. "In our last meet, our team spread was pretty big," Batz-Shaklee said. "I would like to bring that down." One concern for the Quakers has to be how well Bell and Henderson will fare after their recent health problems. Rossner does not think this will be an issue. "We have been looking great in practice," Rossner said. "Everyone seems to be healthy and together." With the team at full strength and well-rested after two weeks off, Penn should be in the thick of things this weekend. "Hopefully, the combination of the competition and the good course will help us all perform really well," Rossner said.
(09/28/99 9:00am)
While the Penn women's cross country team was not at full strength in its latest meet, several strong performances gave the Quakers a reason to be excited for the future. Penn sprinted to a fourth-place finish in the George Bertelsman Invitational, posting a team score of 94. Led by Meredith Rossner's fifth-place finish, Penn defeated St. John's and Wagner but was not able to keep up with Fordham, St. Joseph's and Monmouth. Fordham won the event with a team score of 44. The Quakers would have been much more poised for a better team finish had they been healthy. Unfortunately for Penn, Stephanie Bell, one of the team's top runners, was experiencing respiratory problems and was unable to run. The situation for Penn only got worse when Katie Henderson tripped and sprained her ankle during the race. The Red and Blue were also running without Susie Cook, one of their top performers, who quit the team last week. The key to the Rams' victory in the meet was great balance. By placing three runners in the top 10 and five in the top 13, Fordham was able to run away with the meet. Only one other team, St. Joe's, had more than one person in the top 10. Rossner, a junior, was clearly the highlight of the meet for Penn. She finished the five-kilometer race in just over 19 minutes and 34 seconds. "That is an excellent time for that course," Penn assistant coach Cricket Batz-Shaklee said. "She ran a really good race." Equally impressive were the performances of freshmen Lauren Avallone, who placed 15th, and Neha Amin, who finished 22nd. "It was a tough meet for our team but I am satisfied with my performance," Amin said. Penn's team performance, however, would have been better if Henderson had not fallen. "Katie was having a great race. We thought this might be a breakout race for her," Batz-Shaklee said. "She was very disappointed." The injury problems plaguing the Quakers ruined any shot the team had at placing high in the meet. "We were missing two out of our top five," Batz-Shaklee said. "That killed our chances of doing anything." Penn, however, has reason to be excited with the performance of Rossner, as well as the strong nucleus of young runners that has emerged. Avallone's performance was fast enough to earn her third place among all freshmen who competed. The team will not be in action for two weeks, and given the recent injury problems, this break could be just what the doctor ordered. "Hopefully, we can get healthy," Amin said. "That is what we need to do." Batz-Shaklee believes that the Quakers will improve given a little time. "We have not really yet met our competition," she said. "We have been slowly getting out all the bugs." Penn will return to the track October 9 at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. With any luck and a little recuperation, the Quakers should be a healthier and faster team come next month.
