Impressive performances at the Raleigh Relays last weekend by several members of the Penn women's track team give the Quakers plenty to be optimistic about heading into the Penn Invitational this weekend.
Penn junior Julie Siebert-Johhnson posted a top-10 performance in javelin, while sophomores Caroline Rebello and Ingrid Gustafson and freshman Samantha Crook all tied for 10th in the pole vault.
Other athletes competed impressively as well for the Quakers. Freshman Claire Duncan finished 33rd in a field of more than one hundred runners in the 1500 meters.
Penn sophomore Grace Maloney also showed promise, posting a solid 13th place showing in the high jump competition.
Junior Crystal Marsh finished in 32nd place, and senior teammate Alicia Terry took 36th in a tough 400m hurdles field.
"We all did really well last weekend in terms of personal goals," Duncan said. "It was definitely a positive meet."
Penn will host the Penn Invitational at Franklin Field this Saturday. Among the teams scheduled to compete will be Ivy League foe Cornell.
This weekend will be a good measuring stick for the Quakers, who are scheduled to face Cornell on April 20 during the Big Red's Rivals Weekend --ÿwhere all of Cornell's main rivals in spring sports compete.
"We are especially looking forward to competing against Cornell, because in two weeks we are competing against them with a trip to England on the line," Crook said.
The Quakers finished second behind the Big Red at the Cornell Invitational during the indoor season, but the Quakers think they have an edge as the season heads outdoors.
"Cornell is the number one team in the league right now," Crook said. "We have seen them indoors, but we think we are better outdoors."
Cornell was this year's Indoor Heptagonal Champion. The Red and Blue finished in last place at Heps indoors.
This weekend also gives the Quakers one more opportunity to gel before the following weekend's tri-meet against Princeton and Yale in Princeton, N.J.
Penn hopes to duplicate their outstanding performance of two weekends ago, when the Quakers had eighteen top-five finishes at the Quaker Invitational.
"This weekend will definitely be more competitive than the Quaker Invite," Duncan said. "We are still confident we can do well though."
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