More than 200 college teams from across the nation will be competing in the Penn Relays this weekend in Philadelphia.
Within the Big Ten, the Hoosiers will have the opportunity to face Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers.
The main attractions at this weekend’s meet will be the sheer number of relay races. These events include the 4x100-meter dash, the 4x200-meter dash, the 4x400-meter dash, the 4x800-meter race, the 4x1500-meter race, the sprint medley relay and the distance medley relay.
The runners will also participate in a number of individual events.
Sophomore Megan Grabowski will run the 100-meter dash. Freshman Zykeria Williams will be participating in the 100-meter hurdles.
Junior Jeyland Valentin will compete in the 400-meter hurdles.
An event to watch for this weekend will be the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Junior Haley Harris and freshmen Hannah Stoffel and Lexa Barrott are to compete in the event.
Harris recently ran a personal record of 10:24.81 at the Florida Relays. She is also sixth place in the event within the Big Ten.
Lexa Barrott is eighth place in the event in the Big Ten, with a time of 10:33.76 at the Florida Relays.
Junior Maggie Allen will compete in the 3,000-meter race this weekend, too. Allen’s last performance in the event came during the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 23 and 24. She earned fourth place with a time of 9:14.76.
In the field, the throwers will look to make improvements from last week, while the jumpers return after a week off from competition.
Sophomore Khayla Dawson will compete in the shot put event, in which she currently holds the number one spot in the Big Ten. She recently earned a new personal best of 16.94 meters at the Tennessee Relays on April 12. Dawson also ranks 11th nationally in the event.
Junior Nycia Ford will compete in the hammer throw. She is currently sitting in sixth place in the Big Ten.
As for jumpers, Leah Moran will look to top her performance from two weeks ago. The sophomore earned a personal best of 12.97 meters in the triple jump, good for third best in the Big Ten. She will also be competing in the long jump alongside fellow sophomore Jenna Jungels and junior Aaliyah Armstead.
This meet will be one to watch for the Hoosiers as they look to continue striding forward in the season.
