M. X-C's Wilkinson has chance to win Heps

The sport of cross country will show off its cruel nature today when the success of the Penn men's cross country season will be determined in less than 30 minutes. The Heptagonal Championships will be run today at Van Cortlandt Park in New York, the site of all but one championship race since 1912. This race is the one time of the year when all nine schools in the league -- the Ancient Eight plus Navy -- race against one another. This weekend's finish will be the sole determinant of the final league standing. The Quakers' young squad -- which includes four freshmen and just one senior -- will compete as part of the nine-man team running for the second time at Van Cortlandt. Penn is seeded ninth in the race but hopes to surprise many by finishing in the top half. "Finishing in the top four or five would be a big move up from last year," Penn freshman John Kroll said. "That would be a success from my point of view." Brown and Navy will enter the race as the top-seeded teams and are expected to dominate the rest of the field. The Midshipmen defeated Penn in earlier races this year, but this will be the Quakers' first look at a Bears squad that could post five runners among the top 20 finishers. "Brown and Navy are the teams to beat," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "They are the teams going for the title. Realistically, they will be one and two unless one of them self destructs. But you have to expect that they will run well. After those teams, though, things are pretty interesting." Matt Wilkinson carries the weight of being the only team member with a realistic opportunity to walk away from Heps with a championship. He will be ranked among the elite group of runners at the starting line, hoping to earn an individual title in his final team race for Penn.

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