The La Salle College High School Track and Field Program will host its first La Salle Series at the new Ott Center on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. 

The series consists of six winter meets—three for boys, three for girls—hosted by La Salle College High School at the Ott Center. The first two meets this weekend feature the sprint events (60m, 60m HH, 200m, 400m, as well as Long Jump and Pole Vault), followed by Distance Nights (800m, Mile and 3200m as well as High Jump and Triple Jump), and finishing with Relay Nights (4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m, and Distance Medley Relay along with the Shot Put) in February. 

The Ott Center, named after Jane and David Ott ’81, was recently profiled by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr. Ott shared a story about his start in Cross Country with La Salle’s Hall of Fame Coach Mr. Pat Devine his freshmen year.

From the article:

“In a manner of speaking, Ott believes he found his winning ticket as a freshman at La Salle, from which he graduated in 1981.

Ott had dreams of baseball stardom and asked his homeroom proctor, Pat Devine, who also was the track coach, if the sport would help him get in shape for baseball season.

“So the next day I showed up in my K-Mart sneakers and my gym uniform, and Coach Devine and I ran two miles,” Ott said. “It was an absolutely miserable experience.”

But Devine was so encouraging that Ott stuck with the sport.”

Friday will be the Explorers’ first competition at the new Ott Center.  Tickets are available at the University of Pennsylvania website.

“We are excited to welcome student-athletes from Penn and the Philadelphia area to this world-class facility,” Jane and David Ott said. “Our wish is that all who compete at the Ott Center have as rewarding an experience in the great sport of track and field as we have had.”  

In its inaugural year, the Ott Center will host 43 indoor track and field meets including the first Penn Relays Winter Showcase presented by Toyota on January 31 and February 1. 

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Photo: LSCHS