SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Susquehanna University will send a total of 11 athletes to the 109th Penn Relay Carnival, which will be held from Thursday through Saturday at Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The Crusader men, coached by Jim Taylor, will field a 4x400-meter relay team in the Pop Haddleton MAC Relay, which will be held on Friday at 5:15 p.m.

The Crusader women, coached by Marty Owens, will have a pair of relay teams in action on Thursday. The 4x400-meter relay team will compete in the annual MAC Relay at 4:55 p.m. while the 4x100-meter relay will run at 12:40 p.m.

Competing in the men’s 4x400 relay will be junior Daren Lake (Reston, VA/South Lakes H.S.) freshman Shane Cartwright (Cranston, RI/Cranston East H.S.), freshman Sean Capkin (Wynnewood, PA/Lower Merion H.S.) and sophomore Kyle Sanders (Danville, PA/Danville H.S.).

Last year, the Crusaders finished sixth in a field of 15 current and former members of the Middle Atlantic Conference with a time of 3:26.99. Sanders also ran anchor in last year’s race while Lake, Cartwright and Capkin will be making their Penn Relays debut for Susquehanna, whose 1985 team holds the event record with a time of 3:15.2.

Running in the women’s 4x400-meter relay will be freshman Meghan Johnson (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg H.S.), senior Becky Abrecht (Jefferson, MD/Brunswick H.S.), junior Jordan Bolduc (Elkton, MD/Padua Academy), and senior Megan Patrono (West Milford, NJ/West Milford H.S.).

Susquehanna took ninth in a field of 13 current and former members of the MAC at last year’s event with a time of 4:10.77. Bolduc will be running in the race for the third straight year, Patrono will be competing for the second consecutive season, and Johnson and Abrecht will make their Relays debut.

Also entered for the Crusaders is the 4x100 relay team of sophomore Jen Lockman (Cumberland, ME/Greely H.S.), sophomore Jen Minnig (Mount Carmel, PA/Mount Carmel H.S.), junior Liz Harker (Ephrata, PA/Ephrata H.S.) and Patrono.

Last year, the Crusaders won their heat with a time of 50.72 seconds in an event that included 97 colleges and universities competing in 11 heats. Lockman, Minnig and Patrono all competed in last year’s race while Harker will be debuting for Susquehanna at the Relays.

More than 22,000 competitors will participate in 425 races at this year’s Penn Relays, which has been held annually without interruption since 1895 and is the largest and oldest relays meet in the world. Competitors range in age from 8 to 80 and represent 30 states and 60 countries.