Published 01:01, April the 23rd, 2009
Relays hit close to home
COLLEGE TRACK. Amidst the tradition and mayhem that is the Penn Relays, there will be at least one homecoming.
Shaunee Morgan, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina, was a member of the track team at the University of Pennsylvania for four years. She was a three-time team MVP and two-time captain before leaving Penn with school records in the indoor and outdoor 200m, as well as being part of six school-record relays.
After completing her studies at Penn, Morgan entered grad school at UNC to study social work, and exercised her fifth year of eligibility. This year’s installment of the Penn Relays is a chance for Morgan to return to her old stomping grounds.
“I’m actually really excited to go back because I still have a lot of my friends on the team,” she said. “I haven’t been back since I left, so I’m going to make sure I set aside some time to see my teammates outside of the track. It will be like coming home.”
Morgan, who helped set an Ivy League record in the distance medley relay at the meet last year, will compete in the 4x400m relay, and possibly the 4x 200m and sprint medley relays this year. Her familiarity with the track should give her a leg up on the field.
“I was there for four years and I competed there in high school, so it will always feel like my home track,” Morgan said.
Locals to watch
1 LaTavia Thomas: Last year’s Athlete of the Meet, the West Catholic alum will lead LSU in the 4x400m, 4x800m and sprint medley.
2Nicole Leach: Another West Catholic alum, Leach, now a senior at UCLA, is one of the favorites in the 400m hurdles.
3 Joe Berry: The Tennessee pole vaulter is one of the favorites this year. He won the high school competition with Hatboro-Horsham in 2007.
4 Ben Furcht: The Lower Merion senior and Georgetown commit is
seeded third in the 1,500m.
Penn welcomes the World
TRACK. The highlight of the Penn Relays comes Saturday with the 10th edition of USA vs. the World.
A record 14 nations are slated to compete this year at Franklin Field, and the Americans will be looking for redemption after winning just three of the six events in 2008.
Among the scheduled participants are Darvis Patton, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the men’s 4x100m; LaShawn Merritt, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 400m; Lauryn Williams, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 100m; Allyson Felix, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 200m; and Sanya Richards, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 4x400m.