How hard do you think it would be to perform in front of thousands of your peers, parents and coaches? For most of us, that would probably be a pretty formidable task. How about in front of an audience of over 100,000 spectators, not to mention many of the world's greatest athletes and coaches and a national television audience? Maybe a little bit daunting . . .
That's exactly what the men's and women's outdoor track and field teams will be up against this weekend at the 110th annual Penn Relays.
"With the crowd and the thousands of other athletes and the volume of races that are run, it's hard not to get pumped up" senior sprinter Hasina Outtz said.
Over the past century, the Penn Relays have become one of the most prestigious athletic events in the country. This year's Relays will take place over three days and be composed of over 400 individual races, which will total over 30 hours of racing. Competitors range from elementary-school athletes to Olympic hopefuls to senior citizens.
"If you have competed or been a spectator at Penn Relays, you know that it is a meet like no other" Outtz added.
The history of the meet rivals any event in the world, even the Olympic Games. Since the inception of the Relays in 1895 — the year before the first modern Olympics — more athletes have competed in the meet than any other in the world. The only running competition that beats the Relays in terms of attendance is the Olympics. While attendance for the meet will top 100,000 over the three days, it is expected that more than 50,000 spectators will be at Franklin Field for the final day of competition, the meet's website said.
The history of the event provides quite an impressive backdrop for the Tigers to compete.
"It's amazing just to be a part of the tradition of the Relays, and obviously because of the atmosphere you try to put together some of your best relay teams" Outtz said.
The Tigers hope to use the event to showcase their talent-laden rosters and represent the strength of Ivy League track and field.
"As team, we always just want to represent ourselves and the Ivy League well, especially since the meet is so large."
Several Tigers look to repeat their strong performances from last year's event.
Outtz captured seventeenth last spring in the 400m individual hurdles with a finishing time of one minute, 0.43 seconds. Outtz bettered that time two weeks ago at the Princeton-Penn-Yale tri-meet at Weaver Field.
Senior Chelo Canino hopes to improve upon her fourth-place finish in last year's collegiate pole-vault finals. After last weekend's second place at the prestigious Mt. Sac relays, in which the senior was just a few centimeters off of her personal best, such an improvement is a definite possibility.
The women's 4x100m relay team finished first in their heat with a time of 48.29 seconds.
The men also had several standout performances in last year's competition.
Mike Weishuhn tied for third in the eastern collegiate high jump competition last year as a sophomore. The junior looks to use this year's early-season successes to improve upon that mark.
Senior Josh McCaughey placed seventh in the collegiate men's hammer throw last year. McCaughey was recently named the mid-Atlantic athlete of the year for his success in the weight and hammer throws. The senior's throw at last weekend's meet was the best in the Ivy League so far this year.
Senior Tim Releford, who qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in his first meet this spring, took seventh in last year's collegiate men's javelin throw.
The men will look to improve upon their third-place finish in the 4x400m Ivy League Heptagonal Championships relay event and better their impressive 11th in the 4x800m Championship of America.
Regardless of the results, the Penn Relays promise to be an exciting event for everyone that is involved.
"You just have to experience Penn Relays to know the feeling that comes with running in Franklin Field in front of that crowd," Outtz said.
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