Sprinters lead Men's Track at frigid U of P

Despite temperatures in the low 50s at Franklin Field on Saturday, the Penn men's track team -- which obviously does not like frigid conditions -- had a solid performance at the University of Pennsylvania Invitational. And in weather that does not favor the sprinters, it was the sprinting squad that showed its strength this past weekend. Senior Clive Brown and freshman Robin Martin finished first and third respectively in the 400-meter run, both running personal record times. Brown won the race with a time of 47.8 seconds and Martin finished third in 48.3 seconds, which also qualified him for the IC4As. "I'm happy with my time, it gives me something to build on," said Martin, who was running his first individual 400-meter event in two years. "I feel good, and I feel like I can do a lot better," said Brown, adding that good weather would give him an opportunity to improve his time even more. Junior Greg Davis and sophomore Kael Coleman had solid performances in the 100- and 200-meter runs. But Coleman pointed out the need for strength work in the 200-meter event. "I felt alright until about 160 meters," Coleman said, "then I felt weak and I felt real tired." Davis also had an excellent performance on the 4x400 meter relay team. With the A squad not competing, the B squad was forced to run in the fastest heat. It responded brilliantly -- finishing third on the strength of Davis's opening leg and junior Louis Juliano's anchor leg. Both ran under 49 seconds for their personal best split times. Senior co-captain Greg Schroeder matched his best height in the pole vault for the second week in a row. He cleared 16 feet, 5 inches on his first attempt to win the competition. "Once you start jumping consistently at a high height, you're ready to move up," assistant coach Matt Levine said. Sophomore Dave Davenport won the triple jump for the Quakers with a jump of 49 feet, 3 3/4 inches on his first attempt. It turned out to be his only attempt as he strained his hamstring before making his second jump. "It's a minor pull," Davenport said. "I'll take next weekend off and probably be back the following weekend." Freshman Stanley Anderson finished second and moved up to eighth all time at Penn with a jump of 48 feet, 7 3/4 inches. Sophomore Neil Riordan ran a personal best time of 3 minutes, 52.45 second in the 1500-meter run. He missed qualifying for the IC4As, however, by 0.45 seconds. He may not have another chance to qualify as he will concentrate on the 800-meter event for the next few meets. Many of the younger Penn competitors, while not always placing, improved their personal performances significantly. "It was a great day for the guys who are going to be the mainstays of our team soon," Penn coach Charlie Powell said.