M. Track looks forward to Delaware Invite to prove Boston was a fluke

The Penn men's track team is using this weekend to further prepare for Heps in two weeks. As the Heptagonals championships rapidly approach, the pressure is on for the members of the Penn men's track team. Only 33 of its approximately 60 members can travel to Cornell. The athletes tend to deal with the added stress in many different ways. Three anonymous throwers were spotted having a friendly gymnastics competition at the end of practice yesterday. "We practice for at least three or four hours a day," Penn thrower Ben Williams said. "When you spend that much time with people, it's hard not to become friends." Penn thrower Kyle Turley is even willing to sacrifice his body for his comrades, as the throwers must constantly dodge flying objects throughout practice. "I'd gladly throw myself in front of the weight for [my teammates]," Turley said. This weekend, however, the Quakers will travel 45 minutes to the two-day Delaware Invitational. Other teams at the meet will include Maryland, Rutgers and the host school. Penn hopes it will perform better in Delaware than it did in the Terrier Classic last weekend. "After last week in Boston, I think the entire team would probably agree that it was a letdown," Penn thrower Brent Stiles said. "I would say most people are looking forward to this meet to prove that last week was a fluke." The coaching staff held a team meeting on Monday to try to get the athletes to concentrate on their goals and to practice with more intensity for the remainder of the indoor season. "The coaches talked to us a lot about our focus, and 'are we screwing around or are we college athletes?'" Penn vaulter Luke Stokes said. "I think we'll do a lot better than we have. I think a lot of people are [getting] healthy." While the rest of the team tries to improve to make Heps, Stokes has an agenda of his own. After placing first in the pole vault at the Cornell Invitational and at the Terrier Classic, he wants to go for the three-peat. "I'm planning to continue this streak," Stokes said. "I love the sport -- I'm an adrenaline junkie and it's an adrenaline sport." Stokes has an excellent chance to win his event at this meet, as the competition will be less fierce than it was last week. While the pole vault pool might be weaker, Penn coach Nathan Taylor expects some of the best sprinters on the east coast to be at the invite. "It's a confidence booster to get in there to a big meet," Penn sophomore Darryl Olczak said. "This meet in Delaware is a little different. There are going to be good people there but there won't be the quantity. You can have a better performance here and feel better about it because compared to everyone else, you're going to do better." Now that the freshmen are adjusting to competition on a collegiate level after two quality meets, they will be expected to make valuable contributions. "I never ran indoor in high school," Penn freshman Jeremy Chaison said. "These are not only my first college meets but my first indoor meets as well. Adjusting to a different track and the different distances is also a big adjustment for me, so I'm finally starting to get the hang of it." At the meet this weekend, the Quakers will welcome back injured captain Dan Nord, who will be competing for the first time this season. Now that some of the injured athletes are beginning to return to competition, Penn needs to tie everything together in the two weeks before Heps. "This meet is kind of a stepping stone for us to get all of the knots out of our system," Olczak said. "We're getting to the heart of the season. Everyone has to step up and pull everything together. We only get one chance and this is it."

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