Track & Field Prepares for Penn Relays

This weekend the Crimson heads to Philadelphia to compete with some of the best in the world at the oldest and largest annual track and field meet in America. Harvard will join 18,000 competitors in flocking to historic Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania for the 111th Penn Relay Carnival on April 28-30.

“It is a great event,” Tennessee coach J.J. Clark said in a Relays Press Conference on April 20. “I tell [my runners] that it is probably the biggest meet in the world besides the Olympics.”

The Penn Relays is the world’s first and perhaps most famous relay meet. Over the course of the competition, more than 425 races will be run by participants of all ages, and to fit all this in, an event goes off nearly every five minutes.

“It’s a fabulous meet for spectators,” said Crimson coach Frank Haggerty ’68, “but [the hectic schedule] means you have to warm up outside of the stadium, and the process is conducive to injury.”

Last year, Harvard qualified and sent only sophomore Samyr Laine in the triple jump and senior Johanna Doyle in the hammer throw.

Both athletes finished well, as Laine took second with a performance of 15.11 meters and Doyle took forth with a toss of 56.58 meters in the collegiate division.

This year, the Harvard men will be represented by senior Kristoffer Hinson and Chris Ware in the shotput, junior Kevin Duffy in the javelin, and a trio of juniors in Samyr Laine, Lawrence Adjah and Travis Hughes in the triple jump.

“With good weather, all three of them are looking to get qualifying marks for the NCAA regional,” Haggerty said.

The Crimson women will send seniors Victoria Henderson and Eleanor Thompson in both the 400-meter hurdles and the mile relay, while freshman Dimma Kalu and junior Stevie DeGroff will join them in the latter event. Others qualified, Haggerty said, but due to conflicts and an interest in rest and recovery, chose not to attend.

“I certainly think [we] can do well again,” Haggerty said.

Competition begins on Tuesday with the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon, but most events begin Thursday and run through Sunday. There are events for every level including very competitive high school, college, and Olympic development races.

On the final day, notably, over 50,000 fans pack the stadium to watch U.S. champion track athletes like Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin, Sean Crawford, and Alan Webb participate. Many international stars will compete in the renowned USA-World relay competitions.

The level of competition is so great, in fact, that 23 Penn Relays alumni won gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The Crimson contingent will primarily compete against athletes from some 240 colleges from around the world, including all eight Ivy League schools and NCAA powerhouses like Tennessee, Florida, and Texas.

“It’s great to be able to compete in that kind of atmosphere,” Haggerty said.

A part of the team will also be competing at the un-scored University of Connecticut Invitational this weekend as a final preparation for the Outdoor Heptagonal Championships on May 7 at Columbia’s Baker Field.