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With the loss of All-American discus thrower Sam Mattis and Penn's throwing coach of 30 years in Tony Tenisci, senior Noah Kennedy-White will be expected to help new coach Jeff Pflaumbaum find success in his first year coaching the Quakers. 

Three new faces come to Penn track and field's coaching staff

By Will Snow · Aug. 24, 2016

The program's greatest team in recent memory lost NCAA All-Americans Sam Mattis and Tommy Awad — as well as other star athletes — but perhaps the most notable loss came from the coaching staff that vaulted the team up to its relative success on the Ivy League and national stages in 2016. 

Mattis, Awad compete at NCAAs for the last time

By Cole Jacobson · June 11, 2016

It’s the end of an era for Penn men’s track and field. After years of service leading the rebuild of the Quakers’ men’s program, senior superstars Sam Mattis and Thomas Awad donned the Red and Blue for the final time on Friday evening, competing in the discus throw and 5000-meter run, respectively, at the 2016 NCAA Track and Field Champions in Eugene, Ore.  Mattis finished in second place in the men’s discus throw earning his third consecutive first team All-American honors, while Awad took 22nd place in the men’s 5000m to secure an honorable mention All-America spot. Penn’s evening was opened by Mattis, who was the presumptive favorite in his signature event all season after setting a still-standing American-born collegiate record with a gargantuan toss of 67.45 meters back at the Philadelphia College Classic in March – a full sixteen feet further than the next farthest throw by an NCAA athlete in 2016, courtesy of Kansas’ Mitchell Cooper. But Mattis – attempting to become Penn’s first two-time national champion since Bruce Collins won the 400m hurdles in 1972 and 1974 – struggled early on, barely advancing into the final flight with a first round mark of 57.98 meters.

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Competing after finals gives new life to athletes

By Cole Jacobson · July 6, 2016

For most of Penn’s undergraduate population, the end of the final exam period signals the time for kicking back, relaxing and fondly looking back at the previous year. But for a very lucky, very small fraction of the student body, the onset of summer simply means business as usual. Playing on a varsity spring sport inherently carries the risk of playing past the school year’s conclusion, and 2016 was no exception.

Track and field star to be inducted posthumously into Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame

By Will Snow · June 29, 2016

Last Thursday, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame announced its induction class of 2016. One team and 15 individuals will be inducted — some posthumously. And in a class that features world boxing champions, NFL Hall of Famers and the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, one induction will be an old Quaker. George Washington Orton graduated from Penn with a Masters in 1894 and a Ph.D.

George Washington Orton, a graduate from Penn with an M.A. in 1894 and a Ph.D. in 1896, was just announced as a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame's induction class of 2016, thanks to his many accomplishments, including a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Olympics.

Track and field star to be inducted posthumously into Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame

By Will Snow · June 29, 2016

Last Thursday, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame announced its induction class of 2016. One team and 15 individuals will be inducted — some posthumously. And in a class that features world boxing champions, NFL Hall of Famers and the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, one induction will be an old Quaker. George Washington Orton graduated from Penn with a Masters in 1894 and a Ph.D.

On Friday night under the lights in Eugene, Ore., senior superstars Tommy Awad and Sam Mattis finished 22nd in the 5,000-meter run and 2nd in the discus, respectively. This was the last time they will don the Red and Blue. 

Mattis, Awad compete at NCAAs for the last time

By Cole Jacobson · June 11, 2016

It’s the end of an era for Penn men’s track and field. After years of service leading the rebuild of the Quakers’ men’s program, senior superstars Sam Mattis and Thomas Awad donned the Red and Blue for the final time on Friday evening, competing in the discus throw and 5000-meter run, respectively, at the 2016 NCAA Track and Field Champions in Eugene, Ore.  Mattis finished in second place in the men’s discus throw earning his third consecutive first team All-American honors, while Awad took 22nd place in the men’s 5000m to secure an honorable mention All-America spot. Penn’s evening was opened by Mattis, who was the presumptive favorite in his signature event all season after setting a still-standing American-born collegiate record with a gargantuan toss of 67.45 meters back at the Philadelphia College Classic in March – a full sixteen feet further than the next farthest throw by an NCAA athlete in 2016, courtesy of Kansas’ Mitchell Cooper. But Mattis – attempting to become Penn’s first two-time national champion since Bruce Collins won the 400m hurdles in 1972 and 1974 – struggled early on, barely advancing into the final flight with a first round mark of 57.98 meters.

Senior track star Tommy Awad booked his place at the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer with a trail-blazing time of 3:37.75 — placing him second all-time in the Ivy League record books.

Awad strides into Olympic Trials qualification

By Andrew Zheng · May 18, 2016

With a quarter of a second to spare, senior distance runner Thomas Awad took a colossal step towards representing the United States in the Rio Olympics this August. Last Monday at the Swarthmore Final Qualifying meet, Awad recorded a personal best in the 1,500 meter race with a historic time of 3:37.75, narrowly giving him an automatic qualification to compete in this July’s United States Olympic Trials.

While most of the the track and field stars performed to expectation, senior distance runner Tommy Awad was denied that chance when he was allegedly pushed to the ground with one lap to go in the 5000m at Heps this Sunday.

Stars lead the way for Penn track and field at Heps

By Will Snow · May 8, 2016

While all of Penn spent its weekend trying to end the semester with a bang by studying hours on end, one group of students spent its time seeking to go out with a bang by throwing things, jumping around, and running in circles.

Relays Supplement | Villanova women look to continue DMR dominance

By Jacob Snyder · April 28, 2016

There’s succeeding, and then there’s success. When the Villanova Women’s Distance Medley Relay team collected its first Penn Relays title in 1984, not even the school itself could have predicted the decades of success that were to follow. The Distance Medley Relay, or DMR, is a race that is comprised of four legs, each of varying length.

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