M. Track comes up just short

Brett CohenBrett CohenDaily Pennsylvanian Sports Writer The lead changed hands throughout the meet. The outcome was not decided until the final two events, the 2-mile relay and the 3,000-meter race. Penn was not able to gain the lead in either event, despite the 2-mile relay team qualifying for IC4As. The meet was a challenge for Penn because of the level of competition. Navy will be one of Penn's main challengers for the Heptagonals title, and N.C. State ranks among the best in the ACC. "Just like in basketball, you try to schedule tougher opponents in the beginning of the season to be ready for challenges later in the season," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "An easy meet in the beginning of the season can give you a false sense of reality." Penn was at a disadvantage entering the meet because the Midshipmen and Wolfpack had already competed in meets after their winter breaks. The Quakers had only one day of practice after returning and were not as sharp as the other two teams. "I was quite surprised we did so well," Powell said. "The coaches are always holding their breath the first few days." Several Quakers performed well at the meet. Kelsey Armstrong won the 500 and just missed qualifying for IC4As with a time of 1 minute, 5.62 seconds. Chris Harper finished second in the 400 with a time of 49.44 seconds and was able to qualify for IC4As. Penn fared well in the sprint events, finishing second, third and fourth in the 55-meter dash and second and fourth in the 55-meter hurdles. Penn junior Al Symonette finished fourth in the mile with a time of 4:19. Sophomore Matt Wilkinson's time of 8:31 in the 3,000 just missed qualifying him for IC4As. The Quakers finished second, third and fourth in the long and triple jumps, with freshman jumper Dave Davenport jumping a personal best of 46 feet, 6 inches in the triple jump. The top performance of the meet belonged to Clarence Hinton in the 35-pound weight throw. His throw of 60-2 was just short of the qualifying distance for nationals and placed him third on the all-time list for Penn. Hinton is a discus thrower who took up the 35-pound weight as another event during the indoor season. "If Clarence keeps progressing as he has, he should make nationals," Powell said. Hinton will have plenty of competition throughout the year. The Heptagonals have some of the best throwers in the country and should push Hinton to achieve even farther throws. The meet was not a complete success for the Quakers. Most of the team was unable to improve on previous performances. Penn was also without some of its important contributors because of various injuries. "Some people were not sound technically at the meet," assistant coach Nathan Taylor said. "Some people took a step backwards from the level they were at before."