MSU Travels To Prestigious Penn Relays
? Notes
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Mississippi State’s men’s and women’s track and field squads look to showcase their talents in front of the nation starting Thursday in the 115th running of the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
The 2009 Penn Relays will be aired nationally on ESPN2 Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m.
The Bulldogs, who claimed three first-place finishes last week at the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, strive to continue their trend of delivering top-notch results in what is expected to be a capacity crowd at Franklin Field.
“The Penn Relays is a national event that is a huge pressure situation that our kids live for,” coach Al Schmidt said.
Schmidt also added one of the main goals of the meet is to leave with national qualifying times, something the Bulldogs have done with success in the past.
The Maroon and White last won the 4x400-meter relay crown in 2006 and are expected to contend for the championship again this season. In addition to the various sprint relays (4x100-, 4x200-, 4x400- meter), MSU has a number of athletes competing for many open events.
Notable athletes are senior Robert Scribner competing in the 5000-meter run, junior Wendy Copeland in the championship section of the long jump and sophomore Matthew Cameron in the Olympic development 1500-meter run.
In addition to the Penn Relays, MSU is also sending several track and field athletes to participate in Southern Miss’s Golden Eagles Classic in