Tigers to relax in front of 50,000

The men's and women's track teams are gearing up for the Penn Relay Carnival this weekend in Philadelphia. The historic Relays begin today and run through Saturday, at which point the Tigers will travel to Ewing, N.J., for more side-by-side competition in Saturday's Lion Invitational at the College of New Jersey.

The Penn Relays are the largest meet in which the Tigers participate, with roughly 17,000 athletes and as many as 50,000 spectators expected. Over three days of competition, more than 425 races will be run, involving high school, collegiate and professional athletes.

"The level of competition this weekend will be the highest we'll see all year, excluding the NCAA Tournament," men's head coach Fred Samara said.

Unlike at the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers will not be competing for a team trophy at the Relays. Given the variety of individuals and schools participating, individual and relay scores do not contribute toward a team total.

"There is no meet in the country that compares in size, age range, event spread and tradition," senior captain and middle-distance runner Caroline Mullen, who will be making her ninth showing in the Relays this year, said. "The focus of the Penn Relays is also the relay, and while most collegiate meets tend to favor the individual, Penn brings a little glory back to the relay and to the school. In this context, everyone competing for Princeton hopes to represent our school well."

Of course, representing Princeton does not exclude a little friendly competition among teammates. For both the men's and women's squads, this weekend is the last chance to show off for the coaches before the rest of the Ivy League comes to Princeton for the Heptagonal Championships on May 5 and 6.

"We are still looking at a number of our athletes to see who is going to compete at the league meet," Samara said. "Some guys are still coming along in their training, and we want to continue to see improvement."

The Tigers know that with time running out to finalize their Heps rosters, the coaches will be keeping a close eye on everyone's performance this weekend.

"Penn is definitely a segue for our team to Heps," Mullen said. "Many girls who are in the running to compete at Heps will need Penn or [Saturday's Lion Invitational] to solidify their spot on the Heps squad — the goal of every athlete on the team."

The Relays offer the Tigers a chance not only to compete at an especially high level, but also to compete in events they don't have the opportunity to run during the rest of the season.

Once such event is the distance medley relay, with four legs run at distances of 1,200m, 400m, 800m and 1600m.

"We use the Relays to expose our athletes to good competition," women's head coach Peter Farrell said. "It's like a tuneup for Heps, but it's a tuneup against national-caliber opponents."

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Even so, some of the Tigers can't help but let the Carnival side of the Penn Relay Carnival color their approach.

"Since it's not scored, the meet offers a worry-free, adrenaline-pumped opportunity to compete against the best," junior middle-distance runner David Nightingale said. "The Relays offer a chance to relax and have some fun before a pressure-filled Heps."