PHILADELPHIA – Track & field athletes - old and young and from across the globe - dream about stepping inside of Franklin Field during the final weekend of April; it means only one thing: The Penn Relays. Some of the best high school, collegiate and professional athletes in the world descend upon Philadelphia this weekend for the 125th running of the Penn Relays, the oldest and largest track & field competition in the United States, beginning on Thursday, April 25 and continuing through Saturday, April 27.
MEET AT A GLANCE
Penn Relays | Thursday, April 25 – Saturday, April 27 | Franklin Field
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THURSDAY
During the opening day of the Penn Relays, the women's DMR – the first Championship of America race of the weekend – in addition to some of the women's field events will take center stage before the distance races end the day on Thursday. Penn will trot out its best DMR quartet in program history with record holders across the board looking to become the first Ivy League team to capture a Championship of America relay title. In Thursday's field events, Rachel Lee Wilson and Mayyi Mahama will contend for the hammer throw title. The pair owns the top-two spots in program history as Wilson recorded a mark of 63.89m (209-7) and Mahama, a freshman, reached 60.27m (197-9) earlier this spring. Maura Kimmel holds the shot put record with a mark of 16.05m (52-6.5) and should be in the mix on Thursday as well as a bevy of pole vaulters.
Distance night begins with the women's steeplechase on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m.
FRIDAY
The men's field events begin early on Friday morning. Cameron Landis is second all-time in the shot put after a mark of 17.72m (58-1.75) this spring and will compete in the Championship section at 12 p.m. Just before that, though, Ashley Anumba, who just broke her own program record after throwing 57.36m (188-2), and Kimmel are scheduled to compete in the discus Championship section. The men's DMR team will battle for Championship of America glory at 5:15 p.m. while other teams in the 4x100m and 4x400m will run both prelim and finals throughout the day.
SATURDAY
Finally, the Relays will conclude on Saturday, beginning with the women's high jump. Anna Peyton Malizia, the program record holder, cleared 1.82m (5-11.5) to win last month's Texas Relays with the fifth-best mark in the NCAA East qualifying list. The women's 4x800m and 4x400m relay groups will battle for their first Championship of American crowns at 1:15 p.m. and 2:13 p.m., respectively.
On the men's side, Penn will be represented in the Championship sections for the javelin, discus and pole vault, in addition to the 4x800m. Freshman Marc Minichello holds the third-best mark in the javelin in the NCAA East with a mark of 72.45m (237-8); Chudi Ikpeazu is eighth in the discus with a mark of 56.86m (186-6); and Nathan Fisher (5.20m/17-0.75) and Payton Morris (5.16m/16-11) both sit in the top 25 in the pole vault.
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