When college athletes go to school across the country for sports, the odds are they won’t compete in front of their hometown fans anytime soon.
Today, not one but two talented Bruin teammates will get that opportunity. Two hurdlers will be back in Philadelphia to participate in the famous Penn Relays.
“It’s like a morale-booster,” coach Jeanette Bolden said. “Both (have) competed there since they were young and are familiar with the stadium.”
Bolden decided to trim the number of Bruins down to two and allow the hometown favorites to run on a track they know very well.
Senior Nicole Leach (West Philadelphia Catholic High School) and freshman Ryann Krais (Methacton High School) will both run in the 400-meter hurdles, an event that has brought success to each.
Leach will begin in the 400m hurdles today. Leach was last year’s NCAA runner-up, and she won the NCAA Championships in 2007. Her lifetime best of 54.32 seconds is under the meet record of 55.58.
“I’m excited, just like any other opener,” Leach said. “There’s no concern, and I’m ready.”
Leach is looking to return to the top of the podium after being nipped at the last hurdle last year at Nationals. The Penn Relays will give Leach a chance to size up the competition she will face later this season.
“Normally I see this competition as Nationals,” Leach said. “It’s nothing new; I’m just getting at this point earlier. It’ll help, come June.”
Krais hopes her third run in the Penn Relays will be another memorable one. Last year, Krais won the hurdles for the second time in a row as a prep star from Eagleville, Pa., in the high school race. Now at the college level, she wants to improve and show everyone back home why she was a top recruit for UCLA.
“I’m not concerned about winning, since I’m not sure who will be there,” Krais said. “I’m focused on my own race and the goals me and the coaches have set.”
Krais is also a heptathlete, so only working on one race this week in practice has helped, specifically by concentrating on narrowing the number of steps between each hurdle.
The Penn Relays is one of the most famous track meets in the nation, and both Leach and Krais are no strangers to it. Krais has been running at it since the seventh grade, and Leach was also there before her career in Westwood took off.
The Relays bring in 22,000 athletes from more than 60 countries and from all levels: high school, college and professional. The meet concludes with the USA vs. the World competition. As the biggest track meet in the nation, the Penn Relays, with its 425 races over three days, boasts more athletes than the Olympics.
The meet is at Franklin Field, the same place it started 115 years ago in 1895. The stadium was built for the relays and has expanded to hold over 52,000 spectators. It is the oldest college stadium still used for football games, and it houses the University of Pennsylvania football team.
“It’s going to be fun,” Leach said. “I’m pretty sure the crowd will be on our side. Hopefully the energy is high.”
The Pennsylvania crowd is very familiar with Leach and Krais after watching the two hurdlers grow from young runners to the stars they are today.
“It’s exciting just to have a support system from the West and back home,” Krais said. “It’s a very important meet, and we’re bringing UCLA back to Philadelphia.”
TRITON INVITATIONAL: A number of athletes from the men’s and women’s teams will also compete in La Jolla for the UCSD Triton Invitational.
The No. 9 women’s team will send a healthy group of athletes, while the No. 16 men’s squad will only send a limited contingent. To take advantage of the favorable winds, the top pole vaulters and a few throwers will make the trip. Some runners will work on making adjustments.
“Except for the vaulters, it’s not a frontline meet for us right now,” coach Art Venegas said. “We are resting our front line for ‘SC.”
The dual meet against the Trojans is next weekend, and the athletes hope to make a rested, late-season push for that meet.