W. Track runs away with unscored meet

The Penn women's track team's unexpected move from Cornell to Bucknell last weekend proved to be extremely beneficial. In the unscored meet that pitted Penn against the host Bison, along with Swarthmore, Duquesne, Mt. St. Mary's and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the Quakers saw a number of positives. "I think the team performance was pretty strong," Penn sophomore jumper Meredith Bunche said. "As a whole we did really well." Bunche herself was one of the strongest competitors, as she did well in the long jump and took first in the triple jump, albeit with a shaky performance. "I ended up winning, because the competition wasn't that strong, but it really wasn't my best performance," Bunche noted of her victory. Bunche had recorded personal bests in the triple jump in her last two meets, but slipped almost three inches to 37'9.5" in Lewisburg, Pa. "I wasn't that happy with my performance," Bunche said. "I had two good weekends in a row and then I completely reverted back to something bad." Her personal disappointment notwithstanding, Bunche's first-place finish was a bright spot for the Quakers, who had a number of top finishers. Senior Bassey Adjah captured top honors in both the 55-meter hurdles (8.34) and the long jump (5.40m). "Bassey had a good overall meet," Penn co-captain Monica Maccani said. "But then she always does -- she's a real strong athlete." As with Adjah, fellow senior Yinka Orafidiya continued to shine for the Red and Blue. Orafidiya finished second in the shot put with a 40'8" and captured first in the weight (53'2.25"). All three of Penn's regular throwers -- Orafidiya, Maccani and Tonia Sabino -- finished in the top six of a competitive 42-person shot put field. The Quakers also had three more first-place finishers -- their 4x400 relay team, Mercy Okoye in the 800, and Samantha Desposito in the 1,600. The success of the Bucknell meet will hopefully carry over to this weekend's trip to the George Mason invitational. Both meets, however, are merely preparation for the season's pinnacle -- the Heptagonal Championships. "This weekend is going to be a good meet." Maccani said. "And it should be good finishing us up preparing for Heps." Though it may be unreasonable for the Quakers to expect similar placement results this weekend, Maccani has a good feeling about her team's current status. "We're on the right track for the championship meet," she said. "We're right where we need to be right now. I'm sure we'll be able to give 'em a run for their money at Heps."

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