Penn women's track and field to enter Penn Relays red hot

The 2023 outdoor season has been nothing short of memorable for Penn women’s track and field, filled with more broken records, podium sweeps, and first-place finishes than one can count. The Quakers’ string of impressive outings proves that with every weekend, every competition, every meet, the team continues to raise the bar they set just days prior.

Quite literally raising the bar is sophomore Nataliia Ilieva. The pole vaulter set a program record with a 4.08-meter clearance at the Big 5 Invitational, just to clear 4.22m two weeks later at the Transatlantic Series. Ilieva had never broken the four-meter mark before this season. Now, she finds herself climbing her way to an Ivy League championship — where she set a personal best last year.

The infield has also seen consistent results from freshman discus thrower Angeludi Asaah, sophomore discus and hammer thrower Kira Lindner, and senior triple jumper Tamara Grahovac. Asaah’s recent 43.88m toss placed her at ninth on the all-time program leaderboard, while the 2023 season has also seen Lindner record personal bests in both discus and hammer. Grahovac has picked up three first-place finishes in the outdoor season already — with numbers trending upward — and looks to pick up a couple more at Penn Relays.

Sprinters and distance runners alike have also made history this season, propelling the Red and Blue to numerous first-place finishes. Junior distance runner Liv Morganti’s 10:09.13 steeplechase finish at the Larry Ellis Invitational shattered the previous program best time of 10:20.41 — achieving the goal she set out for herself last year. 

After already etching her name in the record books for the 60m dash during the indoor season, Moforehan Abinusawa collected yet another program record at the Virginia Challenge over the weekend. The freshman clocked a 11.38 time in the 100m to secure her name atop Quaker history — thumping the previous record of 11.56, set in 2017.

With Penn Relays, a long-awaited tradition circled on everyone's calendar, looming right around the corner — and Ivy League Heptagonals just one week after — the Quakers will look to use momentum from an already historic campaign to potentially add Ivy Outdoor and NCAA Championships to the list.

Penn Relays kicks off April 27, with the 127-year-old carnival extending through April 29. It’s clear Penn women’s track and field has the talent needed to compete against the leading collegiate athletes in the nation. Now those talents will be put to the test in front of a rocking Franklin Field crowd: a sight one won’t want to miss.