The rest of the team will join Strouse and Hunter today, with competition running through Saturday evening.
The Penn Relays is one of the largest and most recognized track meets in North America, and attracts athletes from all age levels, from elementary school athletes to Olympic prospects.
The competition at the college level is fierce, as schools from all six power conferences will be represented, with Michigan and defending national champions Auburn among the notable schools competing.
Although the University of Pennsylvania is the host, Penn State head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said that Penn State is a crowd favorite at the meet.
"We have a really warm welcome as Penn State at the Penn Relays," she said. "UPenn is the host institution but we're really the in state team and so the history for Penn State is really strong there, and people really get behind the blue and white and really cheer us on."
Having the crowd on its side could be a huge boost for the team. If the weather is good, Alford-Sullivan said, the crowd could reach 30,000 to 40,000 people, easily the largest crowd Penn State has competed in front of all year.
The atmosphere and competition at the meet will help the athletes prepare for the upcoming Big Ten championships.
"The atmosphere ought to draw out big performances and that's a good tune up for Big Tens," Alford-Sullivan said. "So we'll really utilize this opportunity to say, 'We're two weeks out of a championship, here's an unbelievable opportunity for you to have the atmosphere, draw you out and bring you to the next level.' "
For the third straight week, a Penn State athlete was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week, as Aleesha Barber earned the honor after setting two personal records last weekend at Bucknell. It was Barber's first time earning the award this season.
