STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – At the Fastrack Last Chance Meet at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Friday night, Nia Akins, of the University of Pennsylvania women's track and field program, ran a blistering time of 2:04.74 to break her own program record and move into seventh place in the country in the 800m.

Akins had entered the weekend ranked 10th in the NCAA, but by virtue of moving even further up the list, she inches closer to clinching a qualifying spot at next month's NCAA Championships. To qualify, athletes must end the indoor season inside the top 16 nationally in their respective event, ensuring only the nation's best will compete in Birmingham, Ala. on March 8-9.

Akins, along with the rest of the Quakers, will have another chance to better their times and marks at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships next week at Harvard.

On Saturday, some Quakers competed at the Princeton Invitational, hosted by the Tigers. That proved to be another banner day for the Penn weight throwers as Rachel Wilson and Mayyi Mahama improved on the top-two marks in program history with massive performances. Wilson recorded a mark of 20.30m (66-7.25) while Mahama's toss of 19.86m (65-2) beat her PR that already stood as the second-best all-time. Those two marks also improved on their No. 3 and 4 marks in Ivy League history, respectively.

In the shot put, Penn swept the top-two spots as well. Maura Kimmel won with a throw of 15.77m (51-9) and Ashley Anumba placed second with a mark of 13.65m (44-9.5). In men's events, Payton Morris was the top collegiate pole vaulter in competition thanks to his mark of 5.05m (16-6.75).

WHAT'S NEXT
The biggest weekend of the indoor season lies ahead of Penn as it gets set for the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships next weekend, beginning on Saturday, Feb. 23. The women's team is looking to defend a pair of titles it earned last year, after winning both the indoor and outdoor Heps, while the men are looking to improve on their runner-up finish.

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