Programming Note: The 2017 Penn Relays will be broadcast live from Franklin Field in Philadelphia, PA Thursday through Saturday April 27-29 via USATF.TV +PLUS and NBC Sports Network. The USATF.TV broadcast will require a RunnerSpace +PLUS subscription. All events from the USATF.TV will be made available for on-demand viewing on USATF.TV. Sign up here for RunnerSpace +PLUS.

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Here are 10 college storylines to follow Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the 123rd Penn Relays:

This Angel hopes to get her watches

Villanova fifth-year senior Angel Piccirillo is the most decorated competitor racing in the collegiate section of the meet, with six career victories for the Wildcats at Franklin Field, in addition to a pair of high school wins in the mile in 2010 and 2011 competing for Pennsylvania’s Homer Center High.

Piccirillo redshirted last outdoor season, but has returned to represent Villanova one last time, looking to equal or surpass former Wildcats Kathy Franey (1986-90) and Michelle Bennett (1988-91), who both have seven wins at Penn Relays.

Piccirillo is entered in the 4x800, 4x1,500 and distance medley relay for Villanova, which is the all-time leader in all three women’s events with a combined 36 titles since 1979. The Wildcats edged Oregon in the 4x1,500 last year without Piccirillo, but Georgetown prevailed in the 4x800 and DMR.

Piccirillo helped Villanova set the 4x800 collegiate record of 8:17.45 at the 2013 Penn Relays. Franey and Bennett were members of Villanova’s DMR lineup that ran a collegiate record 10:48.38 in 1988 at Franklin Field.

Houston, we have a purpose

Following a narrow setback last year to G.C. Foster, the fourth year in a row a Jamaican collegiate lineup won the men’s 4x100 relay, Houston has returned to Franklin Field for a rematch and to revisit some of its past glory at Penn Relays.

The Cougars won the 4x100 and 4x200 in 1980 – led by current assistant Carl Lewis – and captured the 4x100 in 1989, sparked by current head coach Leroy Burrell.

Although Houston won the men’s 4x110 shuttle hurdles relay for the first time last year, the Cougars are focused on becoming the first American collegiate team to win the men’s 4x100 at Franklin Field since Auburn in 2012.

Houston’s Cameron Burrell, Mario Burke, Jacarias Martin and Eli Hall-Thompson ran 38.59 to place second to LSU (38.57) on April 15 at the 59th Mt. SAC Relays at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., which puts the Cougars in position to challenge the 2001 Penn Relays record of 38.68 set by TCU.

Houston ran 56.78 to win the shuttle hurdles last year and is looking to become the first team since Savannah State in 2013-14 to repeat as champion. Raymund Clarke, Amere Lattin and Marcus McWilliams return from last year’s lineup, looking to become the seventh program in meet history to break 55 seconds.

Back for more, pursuing four

For all that the Oregon women’s team has accomplished already this year – including collegiate outdoor records in the 4x100, 4x200 and Raevyn Rogers in the 800, which followed all-time indoor marks in the DMR and Hannah Cunliffe in the 60-meter dash – the Ducks descend on Franklin Field motivated to make more history after a near miss last season.

Only three college programs – Texas (1989), LSU (2003 and 2008) and South Carolina (2005) – have won four women’s relays in the same year at Franklin Field.

No team has ever won the women’s 4x100 and 4x1,500 in the same season at Penn Relays.

Oregon came close to achieving both feats last year, winning the 4x100, 4x400 and 1,600 sprint medley relay titles, but just missed adding a 4x1,500 victory, when Villanova held off the Ducks by a 17:44.29 to 17:44.67 margin.

Oregon is again entered in the same four events, looking to win its third straight 1,600 sprint medley relay championship and to repeat in the 4x100 and 4x400, in addition to capture its first 4x1,500 since 2012.

The Ducks already boast the all-time collegiate 4x100 mark at 42.12, but Makenzie Dunmore, Deajah Stevens, Ariana Washington and Cunliffe will look to break the 2008 meet record of 42.59 set by LSU. The Franklin Field record is 42.19, set in 2012 by an American all-star team during the USA vs. The World competition.

Oregon is expected to have Rogers available to anchor the 4x400 and 1,600 sprint medley relays. Texas set the meet record in the 4x400 in 2014 by clocking 3:25.05 and Tennessee boasts the SMR mark of 3:41.78 from 2004.

The Ducks’ toughest challenge, again, will be in the 4x1,500, with Villanova and Stanford – teams that have combined to win the past three titles – in the field, along with legitimate challengers in Penn State and Brigham Young. Katie Rainsberger is expected to anchor Oregon’s relay after punctuating the record-setting indoor DMR in January.

Harris seeks headlines for Penn State

Brannon Kidder and Casimir Loxsom have both been selected athletes of the meet for Penn State and sophomore Isaiah Harris has the potential to be one of the standout collegiate performers this year at Franklin Field.

Harris ran on the Nittany Lions’ championship lineups last year in the 4x800 and distance medley relays, but with Kidder’s graduation, he is now the central figure in Penn State’s pursuit for repeats.

The Nittany Lions have secured eight men’s relay titles since 2011, including three in the 1,600 sprint medley, where Harris could be used on the 800-meter anchor leg.

Penn State ran 7:17.37 last year in the 4x800 and still holds the meet record of 7:11.17 from 1985. The Nittany Lions clocked 9:35.51 to hold off Georgetown in the DMR last season, but placed ninth in the 4xmile relay and didn’t compete in the 1,600 sprint medley relay.

Penn State is the last men’s program to repeat in the 4x800 in 2012-13, but despite the Nittany Lions winning six men’s DMR titles, they have never secured back-to-back championships.

Cardinal women look to rule once more

Stanford returns to Franklin Field with one of its deepest, most versatile lineups and could be a contender in the women’s 4x800, 4x1,500 and distance medley relays, depending on which events the program emphasizes most.

Elise Cranny and Rebecca Mehra were members of the 2015 Cardinal 4x1,500 championship team, with Olivia Baker having won a pair of high school girls 4x800 titles in 2013-14 while at Columbia, N.J.

Stanford has a total of five women’s relay victories, including four in the 4x1,500, but has never won the DMR. The Cardinal won the women’s 4x800 and 4x1,500 in 2005, only the second time in program history Stanford captured two relay titles in the same year at Franklin Field, including 2001 with victories in the men’s 4x800 and 4xmile.

The presence of freshmen Christina Aragon and Fiona O’Keeffe, along with veterans Baker, Cranny, Mehra and seniors Danielle Katz and Malika Waschmann make Stanford formidable challengers in any distance relay.

Will Gamecocks be on their game again?

After Jamaica’s UTech won three titles in a four-year span from 2012-15, South Carolina relied on a talented South African sprinter to capture its first men’s 4x200 championship and the sixth men’s title all-time at Penn Relays.

Ncincilili Titi, the collegiate 200-meter leader with a wind-legal 20.14 performance April 15 at the Gamecock Invitational, returns to Franklin Field to try to help South Carolina become the first American college program since TCU in 2000-01 to repeat as men’s 4x200 champions.

Since the relay switched from 4x220 yards to 4x200 meters in 1976, LSU, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina State and TCU are the only American men’s college teams to repeat, with UTech the only Jamaican college to achieve the feat in 2014-15.

Ryan Bermudez, Devon Lewis and David Winters, Jr. are also back for the Gamecocks, who are trying to win a men’s relay title for the third consecutive year for the first time in program history at Penn Relays. South Carolina accomplished the feat in the women’s 4x400 from 2000-02.

You always remember your first

Although several Penn Relays veterans are expected to capture relay titles, many established programs could finally break through and secure their first wins at Franklin Field.

Virginia Tech is a legitimate challenger in the men’s 4x800 relay, with Drew Piazza and Patrick Joseph leading the Hokies. Virginia Tech has never finished higher than third in any women’s relay and sixth in a men’s relay in six previous Penn Relays appearances.

Although Middle Tennessee State won the men’s 4x200 in 1993-94, the Blue Raiders have never won a distance relay at Franklin Field. Middle Tennessee State is expected to run an all-African men’s 4x800 lineup of Kenyans Geoffrey Cheruiyot, Hillary Rono and Eliud Rutto, along with Sampson Laari of Ghana.

Miami (Ohio) could be a potential sleeper in the men’s 4xmile, with brothers Chris Torpy and Sean Torpy looking to guide the RedHawks to their first championship.

Brigham Young produced 1913 men’s high jump champion Alma Richards, but has yet to win a relay title at the meet, a drought which could end with an impressive lineup ready to contend in the women’s 4x1,500. The arrival of freshman Whittni Orton, along with the veteran presence of senior Shea Collinsworth, gives the Cougars the firepower to compete against past champions Oregon, Stanford and Villanova.

San Diego State had Shanieka Thomas win the women’s triple jump in 2013, but the Aztecs have never prevailed in a relay. Their third appearance at Penn Relays could finally be the charm, with junior Ashley Henderson leading San Diego State in the women’s 4x200 and senior Micha Auzenne looking to guide the Aztecs to the 4x100 shuttle hurdles championship.

Ivy League seeking more memorable moments

Host Penn captured its first relay title in any event since 1974 by winning the men’s 4xmile, becoming the first Ivy League program to secure a relay championship since Princeton doubled up in the men’s 4xmile and distance medley relays in 2012.

Although Penn graduated anchor Thomas Awad, the Quakers have the best opportunity among the Ivy men’s programs to capture a title in the 4xmile, along with Columbia in the 4x800 following a runner-up finish last season. Columbia, Princeton and Penn also have the potential to contend in the distance medley relay.

Cornell (13), Harvard (11), Columbia (nine), Princeton (eight) and Dartmouth (five) have combined for 46 men’s relay championships in meet history, with Penn accounting for more titles (56) than all its conference rivals combined.

The Ivy League is still seeking its first women’s relay title. Cornell placed second in the 1,600 sprint medley in 2010 and Columbia took third in the 2013 distance medley relay, the only time the conference has had a women’s relay place in the top three in an event in the past decade.

Knibb throws for trifecta

There is always a strong Jamaican presence on the track in both high school and collegiate competition at the Penn Relays, but the country’s biggest star might be competing in the women’s discus throw Friday.

Florida State senior Kellion Knibb, the Jamaican national record holder at 202-1 (61.59m) following her performance Saturday at the Cardinal Classic at Stanford University, is seeking her third championship watch in as many appearances at Penn Relays.

Knibb, who represented Jamaica in the Rio Olympics, set the meet record last year by throwing 192-1 (58.55m) after prevailing with a mark of 185-4 (56.49m) in 2014.

Florida State also has an opportunity to challenge for championships in the women’s shot put with fellow Jamaican Gleneve Grange and hammer throw with Slovakian Veronika Kanuchova.

Eyeing encore performances

Although the relays take center stage at Franklin Field, several athletes are returning looking to repeat as individual champions, including a pair of NCAA Division II standouts.

In addition to Florida State’s Kellion Knibb, Oregon senior standout Sasha Wallace is an NCAA championship contender looking to repeat at Penn Relays in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.

Providence junior Brianna Ilarda is back to defend her title in the 3,000 steeplechase, with junior teammate Catarina Rocha seeking a 5,000 championship this season after winning the 3,000 last year.

Penn State junior Jon Yohman looks to repeat in the men’s shot put, with Kelly Yanucil of Mount St. Mary’s pursuing back-to-back titles in the women’s javelin throw.

Shakinah Brooks of Division II St. Augustine’s in North Carolina is the defending meet champion in the women’s long jump, with Erica King of Findlay in Ohio facing a big challenge in her attempt to repeat in the women’s hammer throw, with Princeton’s Julia Ratcliffe and Florida State’s Veronika Kanuchova both entered in the competition.