The track and field team's annual trip to the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa., begins April 28.
The event attracts more than 22,000 track and field stars from junior high school, high school, college, senior and professional levels. Athletes from more than 60 countries will be participating in the three-day event.
Coming off a three-event win at the Mississippi Open, Auburn's track and field team approaches this weekend with determination.
"The Penn Relays is the last competition before the SEC championship," said head coach Ralph Spry. "It'll give us a chance to be sharper and be at our best for the SEC championships."
The Penn Relays is the oldest meet in the United States, with this year's event marking the 117th meet.
"It will be a very competitive meet," Spry said. "Top teams will be there."
A few of these top teams are Penn, Villanova, Oregon, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Many NCAA champs are expected to succeed in the relays.
Women's 60-meter record setter LaKya Brookins of South Carolina and Texas A&M's Jessica Beard are among the leaders for past Penn Relays.
Brookins won the college women's 100-meter at Penn last year.
On the men's side, Florida's sprinter Jeff Demps, who won the NCAA 60-meter, and 400-meter champ Demetrius Pinder of Texas A&M set the bar high.
"Ole Miss and Mississippi State are both very competitive teams," said Clay Porter, freshman on the team. "Mississippi State has great runners, as well as Ole Miss and Alabama."
The team is preparing by focusing on their bodies and overall health.
"We're coming out every day and listening to the coaches and training as hard as we can," Porter said. "Staying healthy is the goal."
The team is practicing at Auburn's Hutsell-Rosen track in preparation for the relays.
"Coach is giving us time to treat our bodies right," said Maya Pressley, sophomore on the team. "We're not running practice as hard so we can prepare our bodies for the relays and go for it."
Pressley is an SEC champion and All-American who placed first in the women's high jump at the Mississippi Open last weekend.
"I think we'll do good at the meet," she said. "We've been training hard, and everyone's ready for the competition and once the competition comes, everyone will step it up. "
During the Penn Relays, there is an average of one race every five minutes.
"The thing I like about the Penn Relays is the fans in the stands," Spry said. "It gives us a chance to compete with a great crowd in a great environment."
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