As one of the oldest – THE oldest of its kind – and the largest track and field meet in the country, the Penn Relay Carnival (aka the Penn Relays) is also one of the most renowned in the nation.

Yet despite its allure and prestige, the Relays act almost like an oasis in the middle of a short and busy season for most of the coaches and athletes who take part.

Such is the case for the University of Maine men’s and women’s outdoor track and field team as they prepare to compete in the three-day meet which starts Thursday.

Maine is a long-time participant in the Relays and has attended them each year since assistant track and field coach Mark Lech joined the Black Bears coaching roster in 1999.

“We’ve been competing in the meet for a long time. I know [head coach] Jim [Ballinger] has taken Maine there for awhile now,” said Lech, who used to compete in the Relays as a student-athlete at Northeastern University. “We’ve usually done pretty well.”

Lech expects his team to do well again this time around, especially in the distance events such as the 4-by-800 meter relay runs and the distance medleys.

“I don’ know which teams will be in our heats or even in the meet yet, so it’s hard to tell where we fallin the mix, but we could place in the top 20 in both the men’s 4-by-8 and distance medley,” Lech explained. “Our 4-by-8 women’s team could do well, but I’m kind of worried about Heather Jovanelli’s health right now. She’s having some foot trouble. If she’s OK, we could be in the top 20.”

Jovanelli is a senior from Brewer. A dark horse candidate to have a strong showing in the meet is the women’s sprint medley team of senior sprint specialist Silvia Scaldaferri (200), junior Katie Souviney of East Vassalboro (200), freshman Lindsay Burlock of Caribou (400), and sophomore Hanna Pelletier of Belgrade (800).

Lovell native and graduate student Mike Lansing should have a solid showing. The distance specialist is doing the individual steeplechase, in which he’s ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA Eastern Region ranks. He’ll also do the distance medley.

Although the Relays are looked at as more of a fun meet without the intense competitive atmosphere of a championship meet, it can become an important one.

“It doesn’t mean anything on the face of it in terms of qualifying, although we can still use our times,” said Lech. “But definitely, there are certain things, even a relay, where you can see something from somebody competing and hopefully have it give them some positive carryover effect into similar or other events of theirs the rest of the season.

“It’s more a chance to give us the race at this level in front of maybe 50,000 people in the stands, which can be a rush for the athletes.”

Competition runs Thursday through Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. Last year’s three-day attendance total was 112,701 fans.