ITHACA, N.Y. -- On Monday evening, 18 men and 18 women from the Cornell track and field squads will depart for the United Kingdom and the quadrennial two-week tour of Great Britain, culminating with the decades-old rivalry with Oxford and Cambridge, contested at the historic Robert Bannister Track at Iffley Road in Oxford. As has been the case since the 1950s, the Big Red will be joining forces with Ivy League rivals Penn, who will send eight men and eight women on the tour.

Throughout the trip, women's distance coach Artie Smith and selected student-athletes will keep Cornell track supporters abreast of their journeys in the United Kingdom.

Opening up the trip, Kim Standridge '11, who recently earned All-America honors in the 800m at the 2010 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., offers a preview of the weeks to come.

Kim Standridge '11
Ithaca to Eugene for the NCAA Championships, back to Ithaca for a night, and now we're off to the United Kingdom, where Cornell and Penn will combine teams from June 14th through the 30th. While in the UK, the Cornell-Penn team will compete in three international meets, with a culminating competition verses the Oxford-Cambridge combined squad. However, the teams have so much more to look forward to besides the competition. The trip has been designed as an exchange among Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham, Penn, Yale, Harvard, and Cornell. The Brits tour our campuses in the US, and while in the UK, our team will have the opportunity to experience their college culture as well. Birmingham toured our campus my freshman year when I hosted an Ireland native, Sara Treacy '12, right in Clara Dickson Hall. I am very exited to see her and the other student-athletes from Oxford-Cambridge that I also hosted the following year in my Collegetown apartment. This exchange has facilitated a special international track bond we all build when making these trips and also when hosting.

The men and women are looking forward to the esteemed England trip after hearing about the experience from those before us. Garrett Huyler '09 made the previous trip four years ago as a freshman. “The England trip was an amazing experience. I met a lot of great people that I still keep in touch with. I am extremely grateful to have been chosen to go on the trip, especially as a freshman.” Since the trip only happens every four years, the team realizes they have one shot at making the trip, even if they are just freshman. However, with many outstanding team performers, it was another competitive year for making the travel team. On the men's side, the Heps is used as the determinant for creating their combined travel team, and, after a dominant Heps championship, the Cornell men will also be sending eighteen and Penn will have eight competitors. Every four years, the Cornell women compete in a dual against Penn since the men began the tradition in 1921. This competition is also an indicator of the travel team for the summer England trip, so the Cornell women will be sending eighteen and Penn has eight.

Our team really values the trip. Sarah (Herskee) Wattenberg '03, now the team's athletic trainer, is excited for those of us traveling this summer. Emphasizing the uniqueness of the upcoming trip, she recollects, “I can easily say that my England trip was my most treasured college experience. At the time, it was a great vacation with my teammates who were my family, having the time of our lives while getting to compete internationally in the sport we loved. But now looking back, it means equally as much to be apart of the amazing history that the trip symbolizes.” Often true of Cornell and the Ivy League, this trip embodies an invaluable tradition, which is cherished by all of those who make the journey. Rising junior Molly Glantz is one of the long sprinters who earned a spot on the travel team. Glantz emphasizes, “I think it's so amazing that we have this opportunity to travel to the UK as a team, and I can't wait to be there.” Our team is very appreciative of the endowment Cornellians before us set up to maintain such an amazing opportunity. Especially during the economic recession, we are very fortunate that the Cornell track program values this historic competitive and cultural experience. As a rising senior, this is my chance to have the trip of a lifetime that the Cornell-Penn athletes have been grateful for since 1921. I already have many fond memories of the Cornell track family from these past three years and I look forward to making many more while in England.