There’s an extra home meet on Penn track & field’s schedule this year, and it’s a big one.
Two weeks after this year’s running of Penn Relays, the Quakers will host the Outdoor Heptagonal Championships for the first time since 2012. The meet, which serves as the Ivy League’s championship meet, will take place on May 9 and 10.
Cross country’s Heptagonals take place in two weeks on Princeton’s campus while Indoor Heptagonals will be hosted by Harvard this year at the end of February.
Three weeks after Indoor Heptagonals, the Red and Blue will open their outdoor season by hosting the third annual Philadelphia College Classic on March 21. The 121st edition of the historic Penn Relays comes a month later to Franklin Field on April 23-25.
After Penn hosts this year’s Heptagonal Championships, the Quakers head to ECAC Championships at Princeton before NCAAs.
In most years, Penn hosts anywhere from two to four events. For the past two years, Franklin Field has only had the Philadelphia College Classic and Penn Relays during the spring season.
Coach Steve Dolan has arguably his strongest squad during his three-year tenure ready to go for the 2014-15 season, and hosting the Heps will give Penn another chance to show off the program’s progress to the rest of campus.
Last year at Yale, Penn had a solid finish at Heptagonals, with the men’s squad finishing fourth, a year after finishing in seventh. The women’s squad finished seventh for the second consecutive year.
The Quakers return a strong junior class that won multiple titles at last year’s race, including distance runners Thomas Awad and Brendan Smith as well as throwers Sam Mattis and Kelsey Hay.
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