W. Track prepped for Heps

With a handful of first-place finishes to its credit, the Penn women's track team finished strong last Saturday at its final meet before the Heptagonal Championships.

"I think that mentally this past weekend's meet was awesome," Penn sophomore Grace Maloney said. "It's going to motivate us to do even better when we get to Heps. We have good times to work off of and two weeks of practice before Heps."

That there was a plethora of top times serves as a confidence booster to the whole team as it approaches the home stretch of their indoor season.

Senior Jeraldine Cofie finished first in the 500 meters, but was nonetheless a little disappointed because she missed qualifying for the Eastern Championships by three tenths of a second.

"During the first semester and against Princeton I was a little quicker," Cofie said. "It was a little disappointing."

She remains confident about Heps, however.

"I think the fact that we had the meet at Cornell helps us before Heps, Cofie said. "It's good to get practice in right before."

In addition to Cofie, a quartet of Penn sophomores grabbed first-place finishes.

Abbi Gleeson kicked off the run for the second-years, finishing first in the 3000 meters with a time of 10:15.96.

Fellow sophomore Tonia Sabino followed suit notching first in the 26-pound weight throw with a distance of 50'01.25.

And sophomore Maloney -- in her first-ever first place finish -- also notched the top spot in the high jump after a heated jump-off, in which she prevailed with a height of 1.60 meters.

Additionally, sophomores Kai Ivory and Michelle Hart competed in the Heptathalon for the first time and grabbed first and second, respectively.

Penn's opportunity to run on the same track that Heps will be run on for its final meet before the championships will give the Quakers a distinct advantage.

"We've been to Cornell a lot so we have a little advantage. It gave us an idea of how [Heps] going to be," sophomore Crystal Marsh said.

At Heps, the team is looking to the throwers, the distance runners and the jumpers to be particularly strong.

Overall, though, the Red and Blue remain confident about the approaching championships. Last weekend's meet was a positive way to conclude Penn's regular indoor season.

A week of training is next, and then the much-anticipated Heps kick off.

"We want to use this week to strengthen ourselves and focus on what we have," Cofie said. "It gives us a chance to relax our bodies a little and just get focused."

Penn's cohesiveness, coupled with their week of practice and rest, places them in a very good position to be extremely competitive at the upcoming Heptagonal Championships.

"We've been working really hard," Penn sophomore Ingrid Gustafson said. "And we're looking to see what we can do against the other teams."

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