Several M. Track performers mark season-bests at West Point invite

The Penn men's indoor track team continued to improve, scoring a second-place finish at the West Point Invitational last Saturday. The Quakers finished just one point behind first-place Army in the five-team field, earning 116.5 team points to Army's 117.5. The Quakers' success hinged on strong individual performances, complemented by good teamwork throughout. Penn started well by capturing the short-distance sprints. The Quakers swept spots two through seven in the 55-meter dash, while junior Kael Coleman sprinted to a season-best time in the 200 meters -- 22.41 seconds -- on his way to the top spot in the event. The Quakers continued to score in the middle distances, with both sophomore Robin Martin and senior captain Neil Riordan running season bests, finishing first in the 800 and 1,000 meters, respectively. Riordan's time of 2:28.31 was 10th best all-time for the Quakers. "Neil ran an amazing race in the 1,000," Martin said. "He ran a really strong race, and it was a great individual effort." Penn also earned first-place finishes from sophomore Dan Nord in both the 55-meter hurdles and the long jump and junior Lucas Deines in the 35-pound weight throw competition. Deines recorded a season-best toss of 17.34 meters in the process. With all of the individual track events and all but one of the field events done, the Quakers received their finest individual performance of the day in the high jump, according to Penn assistant coach Nathan Taylor. Sophomore Rich Carlson unleashed a 6 foot 11 inch jump, which not only earned him first place at the competition, but was also the fourth-best mark in Quakers history. "I think the thing that helped me out was my teammates," Carlson said. "They were all on the floor pulling for me." Carlson's jump was a personal record for him and the best of the season for Penn. "It's really something else to break a personal record," Carlson said. "My confidence is boosted, and hopefully it will help carry me through the rest of the season." The teamwork displayed in Carlson's jump carried over to the relays. Both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter teams clicked as the Quakers ran season-best times, both on their way to taking first place. "Our 4x400 team came together for the first time. It was a great team effort," Martin said. "The high jump and the relays were the end of the meet, and I think the team came together real well for our final push," Carlson said. All in all, the coaching staff was pleased with the performance turned out last Saturday and hopes to see this trend continue. "The guys did well," Taylor said. "They are continuing to do better, but every person on the team must continue to improve if we are going to reach our goal as a team."