M. Track overcomes weather in Raleigh

Despite rain and windy conditions, the Penn men's track team turned in an all-around solid performance at the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State this past weekend. In only their second outdoor meet, the Quakers brushed off the inclement weather and made a statement in the 80-plus team field. The Raleigh Relays were an unscored invitational meet in which both collegiate squads and various other amateur squads competed over two days. Although unscored, the competition level was intense featuring powers of the Big Ten (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin), Big East (Georgetown and Manhattan), and Atlantic Coast Conference (North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and N.C. St.). Penn, the sole Ivy League representative, did not take a back seat to the bigger conferences, as the Quakers fared well in the large field. The Quakers started well in the sprint events, with senior Greg Davis putting in a strong performance in the 100-meter dash. Davis ran the 100 in 10.89 seconds, which was good enough to qualify him for the IC4A at Fairfax, Va., in late May. Davis added to an already productive day by running in the fifth-place Quakers 400-meter relay team. The 4x100 team, with this effort, proved itself to be among the top sprinting squads at the collegiate level, beating powerhouses such as Virginia and Virginia Tech. The other Penn relay teams also came through, as the 800- and 1,600-meter teams both finished eighth in the enormous field. "I was very pleased at the level at which the relays performed," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "They weren't stellar, but they were solid, which is good for this early in the season." The individual highlights were plentiful for the Quakers at Raleigh, led by sophomore Robin Martin. Martin won the 800-meters in one minute, 50.57 seconds. His time was approximately one second off of his personal best time in the 800, which is very impressive only two meets into the season. Junior Lucas Deines also turned in an awesome effort, throwing the hammer 57.62 meters (189 feet) en route to a second-place finish. Deines' throw qualified him for the IC4As and also vaulted him to fifth best all-time in the hammer throw at Penn. His throw was actually a mere four feet short of the NCAA qualifying mark. "I'm content, but not satisfied [with the throw]," Deines said. "I'd like to be throwing over 200 feet by the end of the season." Penn continued to find strong efforts, as the surprising javelin tandem of junior Corey Shannon and Matt Spoerndle finished third and fourth, respectively. Shannon threw a distance of 58.44 meters and Spoerndle finished at a distance of 57.90 meters. Quakers sophomore Dan Nord also distinguished himself. Nord continued his onslaught in the triple jump, this time leaping 15.25 meters and finishing in fourth place. "Our guys, like Robin, Dan and Lucas, started proving that they were among the elite in their events by coming through with strong performances," Powell said. In fact, the performance of the entire Penn squad not only proved something, but it also sent a message. A message that said the Quakers would be a force to be reckoned with. A message that said Penn wouldn't fold in the face of tough competition. A message, that above all else, said that the Quakers are for real and are stepping into the spotlight of men's track.