M. X-C finishes in third place at Leopard

Penn captain MattPenn captain MattWilkinson winsPenn captain MattWilkinson winsindividual title The Penn men's cross country team has been waiting all season for an opportunity to show off its talent. Suffering through dismal weather and a series of injury, the Quakers had hoped that their luck would eventually take a turn for the better. Finally, Penn got its chance on Saturday to run at near-full strength without Mother Nature's interference. The Quakers took advantage with a third-place finish at the Leopard Invitational hosted by Lafayette. Reigning Division III champion Williams won the meet, and Bucknell took second place. But that was of little importance to the Quakers, whose third-place finish was their best of the of the season. "We most definitely showed progress. We showed just what we wanted to show," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "It was a good solid effort -- almost picture perfect." Quakers captain Matt Wilkinson nearly won the individual title, but was outkicked in the the final stretches by Williams's No. 1 runner. "You have to run your ass off to beat [Wilkinson]," Powell said. The coach was also encouraged by the performance of freshman Mark Granshaw, who finished among Penn's top seven runners. The successful performance of the Quakers came as something of a surprise. Unconcerned with its competition and tired from its strenuous workouts, Penn seemed to be more focused on later meets, specifically the Heptagonal Championship, rather than on the Leopard Invitational. However, the Quakers came up with some of their best times of the season. "I hope there are no bumps on the way to the races that really matter," Powell said. Powell noted that the Quakers are still not completely healthy, various illnesses continue to hamper some members of the team. But Powell seemed confident that those minor problems would be of little consequence a couple weeks from now when Penn begins its series of meaningful races. "We have time to get ready," Powell said. "There's nothing that's got us overly concerned."

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