The regular season ended on a high note.
This weekend, Penn track and field concluded its regular season at the ECAC/IC4A Championships at Princeton. Only some of the Red and Blue’s athletes made the trip to New Jersey, as this weekend was the last chance to improve on times and distances already earned this season to qualify for NCAA Nationals.
One of the biggest highlights this weekend came when junior Rachel Lee Wilson achieved a throw of 61.89 meters to finish third in the women’s hammer. The effort was far enough for a new school record, smashing Wilson’s old mark by over a meter. With this distance, Wilson is now one of just four women in Ivy League history to throw for more than 200 feet.
Women's discus was the most success event overall for the Quakers, with three athletes placing for the Red and Blue. Freshman Ashley Anumba, coming off a monster throw of 55.00m last week, took second with a mark of 49.76 this weekend. Sophomore Maura Kimmel and senior Taylor Hojnacki claimed fifth and seventh, respectively, for their throws of 44.67m and 42.64m.
Kimmel added another podium finish to her weekend with a mark of 15.00m to finish third in the shot put. The sophomore remains the program record holder and the only female from Penn to reach at least 15 meters.
Sophomore Tia Livingston led the way on the track for the Red and Blue, winning the 400m hurdles in an even time of 1:00.00 to give the women their only event win of the weekend.
Another top-three finish came for the Quakers when sophomore Cecil Ene took third in the 200m dash in 24.23 seconds. The Red and Blue’s last team points came from junior Candace Taylor, finishing fourth in the 400m dash with a time of 55.43.
Sean Clarke stole the show on the men’s side, clearing a height of 5.50m in the pole vault. This marked a new personal best for Clarke, eclipsing his previous high of 5.36m and moving the sophomore just below the school record of 5.52m set by Mamadou Johnson in 1993. Clarke’s height was enough for victory in the event, the only one for the men this weekend, and he is currently ranked seventh in the NCAA East Region heading into Nationals.
In the 3000m steeplechase, sophomore twins Colin and Will Daly looked to follow up their top two sweep at the Ivy Heps last week, but the competition was tougher this week. Colin took eighth with a time of 9:03.84, and Will did not finish.
Two of Penn’s freshmen starred in the discus, as Chudi Ikpeazu and Jake Kubiatowicz both placed with their throws of 49.37m and 49.10m, respectively for fourth and fifth place. Also earning points for the Red and Blue was senior Sean Ryan, whose mark of 58.89m in the hammer was good for eighth place.
All in all, this weekend proved to be another successful one for the Quakers, who now must wait for the NCAA to release the final list of qualifiers for Nationals. Those selected based on results this season will travel to Tampa, Fla. for the NCAA East Region Preliminaries, which will take place from May 24-26. Athletes that perform well enough will advance to the NCAA Championships in June.
The season is over for many, but not everyone is done quite yet.
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