What should people be looking forward to the most for the 2013 Penn Relays? Our roundtable weighs in.
Sports Editor Ian Wenik: There are a few individuals I’m going to have my eyes on this weekend. In the Olympic Development ranks, I’m going to be watching French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre.
You might remember Lemaitre from his performance in the 2012 London Olympics, as he posted a sixth place finish in the 200-meter dash finals. London was a bit of a disappointment for Lemaitre.
Ranked fourth in the world in the 200m heading into the Olympics, his 20.19 time was well off his personal best, and he didn’t even try the 100m. The fastest man of non-African descent in the event’s history, Lemaitre’s will have to go through a stacked 100m field at the Relays that includes 2004 Athens gold medalist Justin Gatlin this weekend.
Personally, I think he wins. Lemaitre is only 22 and has plenty of good runs left in him.
In the college ranks, I’m excited to watch my former high school opponent Curtis Richburg take the track for Rutgers. A perennial contender for the state championship during his cross-country days at West Orange, Richburg has been one of the Scarlet Knights’ biggest in-state snags.
Nowadays, Richburg is in top form as part of Rutgers’ 4x800m relay team, which is one of the best in the Big East.
U.S. Olympic Development distance runner Robby Andrews is an interesting story after dropping out of UVA to train on his own. Last week, Andrews won the 800m at the Larry Ellis Invitational with a time of 1:48.18.
Highly regarded for years, Andrews crashed and burned at the Olympic Trials last year. Could he, like Lemaitre, get a boost from a good weekend?
Associate Sports Editor Mars Jacobson: I’ve got to give some love to my home state with the powerhouse Oregon Ducks. They are bringing some stacked relay teams, especially in the distance races. Elijah Greer — NCAA 800m indoor champion and a guy I raced against twice in high school — is a freakish athlete. He will run the 800m leg of the distance medley relay and the 4x800m relay for the Ducks. Oregon will be looking to repeat its performances from 2010, when it swept both the men’s 4x1500 and DMR, and got edged by Robby Andrews of Virginia to finish second in the 4x800 relay.
And while we’re on the topic of Robby Andrews, he was an incredible college runner but it seems he has dropped off recently and I would have missed him among the entries.
He is entered in the Olympic Development Men’s Mile — not his strongest event. It was a hit-or-miss indoor season for Andrews, so it will be interesting to see how he does on Saturday. Also featured in that race will be Ryan Cunningham, a former runner for Penn who graduated last year but has continued training with New York Athletic Club.
Another Oregon connection will be in the high school boys’ DMR, as Oregon-bound Edward Cheserek — indoor national record holder in both the two-mile and 5k among high schoolers — will anchor St. Benedict’s Prep in their bid to repeat as Penn Relays champions.
The best athletes for Penn actually won’t be competing in any of the relay races. Junior Maalik Reynolds will attempt to recapture his 2011 crown in the men’s high jump, while freshman Sam Mattis — last year’s Penn Relays champion in the high school discus throw – will test himself against some of the top collegiate competition in the nation.
It’s hard to tell which events will be the best in the USA vs. the World series since the athletes have not been released yet, but the 4x400m races have a sentimental value for me, so I’ll be looking forward to those.
Senior Staff Writer Sushaan Modi: While you guys gave a lot of love to men, I’d like to start the women and right here in the Ivy League. Right now, I believe there is no better athlete in the Ancient Eight than Dartmouth’s Abbey D’Agostino. She is incredible.
The first American to ever pull off a 3000m-5000m double in the NCAA Indoor Championships, she has the second best time in the world in the 5000m for 2013. She is supposed to compete in the CW Distance Medley relay and I think she can make the Big Green serious contenders with a monster anchor leg.
Next, I’d like to move within the league and focus a little bit on the Quakers. Mars already mentioned Reynolds and Mattis in the field, and they are definitely Penn’s studs, but we shouldn’t overlook some other Quakers primed for a big weekend.
I’m looking for junior Karl Ingram to do big things in the Javelin. He hit a personal record two weeks ago when he threw 62.75 m, and although he’s not in the Championship, I feel like this may be a big weekend for him. On the women’s side, Davielle Brown has been chasing her coach’s records all season. Could the big meet pressure bring out the best in her?
On the high school side of things, I’m excited to see the 4x100m, which always brings out the best in the crowd. Two Jamaican teams (Munro College and Kingston College) have run sub-40 and with good weather, we may see the Penn Relays record fall this week. They’ll be challenged by Junipero Serra, who managed 40.97 at last week’s Mt. SAC Relays.
Also on the women’s side, it’s Ariana Washington and Long Beach Poly against the Jamaicans. LBP are looking for a third-straight plaque, but it will be anything but easy.
Lastly, no Bolt and very likely no Blake doesn’t necessarily mean a dull Relays. Three members of the USA women’s 4x100m relay (Tianna Madison, Allyson Feliz and Bianca Knight) should be in attendance, but whether they will compete together or on two separate teams remains to be seen. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price is believed to be in attendance, but as a former hurdler, I’m curious to see if Felix Sanchez, who at age 34 managed to capture gold in London, has enough left in the tank to make a run at gold at the World Championships later this year in Moscow.
