Stars set to join Track

As the track season winds down each spring in the excitement of the Penn Relays, the Heptagonal Championships and the IC4A Championships, the Penn coaches are also in the midst of another important event -- the recruiting process. On May 1 of every year a new recruiting class becomes complete. And this year the Penn men's track team gained 22 potential members of the next year's team. "I'm very excited about the freshman class," Penn assistant coach Nathan Taylor said. "We have good athletes in every event who will do nothing but make the team better. They are 22 very solid athletes." Indeed, the Penn recruiting class includes six athletes who are the state champions in their respective events. · Sean Macmillan of St. Anthony's High School in New York was the State Champion in the Steeplechase. "He's run faster than anyone [currently] on the team," Taylor said. Macmillan is in the top ten in the country in the Steeplechase and finished in the top ten at the U.S. Junior National Championships. · Bob Reynolds, a pole-vaulter from Baldwin High School in Pittsburgh will join the Quakers next year. He set a record for the highest jump in western Pennsylvania this year with a leap of 15 feet 9 inches and won the state championship. · Adam Newmark won the 400-meter run in the New Jersey State Championships this year for Metuchen High School. As he joins the Quakers this season he hopes to improve his already fast personal best time of 48.42 seconds. "He has the potential to become an excellent quarter-miler," Taylor said. · Alex Chou, a transfer student, is expected to be the best shot-putter joining the team this season. After a season at the University of Toronto, where there was only club track and field, he will be coming to Penn to compete on the intercollegiate level. He threw 60 feet in high school and was the Toronto Provincial Champion. "We're very excited to have someone who will hopefully develop into a great shot-putter," Taylor said. · Craig Douglas will be trying to make the transition from high school hurdles to collegiate hurdles next season as he joins the Penn hurdling squad. He was the Oregon state champion in the intermediate and high hurdles. The high hurdles on the collegiate level, at 42 inches, are three inches higher than at the high school level and it is an adjustment that has given many hurdlers trouble in the past. "Craig is certainly a hurdler that has a lot of potential," Penn assistant coach Matt Levine said. · Jason Greene, South Dakota's lone representative at Penn next year, will also be a member of the track team. Greene was the state cross country champion and also was the best one and two mile runner. "I think he's going to be a big contributor to this program," Taylor said. · Shawn Fernandez of Potstown, Pa., is the top local recruit. He will be a part of Penn's sprinting squad next season. He was clocked in the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.5 seconds last year. "In track, we look to recruit the best kids who are the best students and who also fit into Penn," Taylor said. On paper, this recruiting class is as impressive as any. But the test will come on the track, as the Red and Blue tries to regain the Heptagonal championship from Princeton.