Penn Relays Preview by Walt Murphy (WMurphy25@aol.com) After months of anticipation, it’s finally here--the best weekend in track and field, otherwise known as the Penn Relays. It’s always dangerous to play the weather “game”, but the forecast is encouraging. It seems that every edition of the Relays becomes identified with the exploits of an outstanding team or individual. There was the year that Renaldo Nehemiah drove the crowd wild with his performances on Maryland’s relays, and the many years that Villanova and Arkansas dominated the men’s races. Who will make their mark this year. Will it be Yohan Blake, who hopes to lead St.Jago to victory in the boys 4x100 and 4x00? Will this be Texas A&M’s year to shine? Coach Pat Henry was at the helm when LSU won the bulk of their many titles at Penn, but he’s yet to win at Penn since he took over the head coach’s position at A&M. This year, the Aggies will be contenders in all three sprint relays--men and women. Another team ready to grab thee headlines is Texas, which is favored to win the men’s 4x800, 4xmile, and distance medley relays. LSU has a unique distinction in the individual events. Their sprinters, Richard Thompson(10.00) and Kelly Ann Baptiste(11.06) are scheduled to run the 100 at Penn and each has run the respective fastest men’s and women’s time in the world this year. UPDATE: LSU has scratched its sprinters from the 100. They will still run in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. There was a buzz early on when it was learned that UCLA (women) and USC were coming all the way from L.A. for the Relays, but the Trojans have been beset with illness and injuries and have decided to stay home. Teams from Jamaica are expected to dominate most of the high school relays, while a team from Ohio, Cleveland Heights, which ran 3:14.06 and 7:40.72 in 2007, could emerge as the top American team in the boys 4x400 and 4x800.