Wilkinson still awaits big race

As a sophomore, Matt Wilkinson has been a key factor for the Penn men's cross country and track teams. "The team depends on him," senior co-captain Joe Hall said. Wilkinson began his running career after watching his dad run in local races and the Philadelphia Marathon. "My dad is more of a fan than a coach," he said. Originally from Westfield, Pa., Wilkinson did not run cross country in high school because his school did not have a team. However, he was a dominant force on the track team. He finished second in the mile and fifth in the two-mile his junior year at the state championships. In 12th grade, he came in fourth in the two-mile in the small schools division at the state championships. Throughout high school he ran as an individual because not many people he knew enjoyed running like he did. Wilkinson, who was recruited to run for Penn, is impressed by the coaching at the college level. "In college, there is not a lot of room to make mistakes," he said. He prefers cross country to track at the college level because, "running with the team takes the monotony out of training," he said. Senior co-captains Terry McLean and Hall are role models for Wilkinson because they have so much experience. Although he doesn't feel there is a lot of pressure on him this year, the team will be depending on him next year to be its front runner because Penn is graduating five seniors. Last year, when he qualified for the IC4As in track, he ran the 10,000-meter race in 31 minutes, 9 seconds, qualifying by six seconds. However, Wilkinson finished a disappointing last place at the IC4As. Competing against 20 other top runners, he panicked and lost control. Intending to break 31 minutes, he finished over 32 minutes. "This race made me realize that I still had a long way to go," he said, "but it made me more focused in my training." Last year, during the cross country season, Wilkinson was disappointed with his performance. "My legs were beat up and I was too tired to run well at the end of the season," he said. This year, Wilkinson feels "fresher," which he attributes to the difference in training techniques. "This year we have more days between workouts, so we don't put ourselves too far into fatigue where we can't recover," he said. His best race this season was at the National Invitational at Penn State, where he ran his fastest time of the year. Finishing 45th out of more than 200 runners, he was satisfied with his performance because of the stiff competition. Wilkinson is still anticipating his "breakthrough" race. Matt Wilkinson's goal is to run in an NCAA meet before he graduates in either track or cross country.