In third race, M.X-C expects muddy race course at Loyola

While most Penn students will spend Saturday watching the big football game against Dartmouth, a select few have earned a University-funded trip to Chicago. The lucky students are the members of the Penn men's cross country team. On Saturday morning, they will run in the Wolf and Kettle Invitational at Loyola (Ill.). The Quakers will square off against Butler, Drake, Loyola, Marquette and Purdue. Besides traditional top schools including Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Michigan, this weekend's opponents are probably the best teams in the region. "They are a lot of teams that are a lot like us," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. This weekend will mark the Quakers' second competition of the year, and they are still in the early stages of their season. Practices involve a lot of miles, as the team tries to work on aerobic conditioning and strength. This translates to between 80 and 90 miles a week. Yesterday's practice included a program called "five times a mile." This grueling regiment consists of five one-mile runs with the average time in the mid-4:40s and only allows one lap to recover between each mile. The Quakers strategy for Saturday's race calls for a fast start over the first three miles, which will ideally put a quick end to their opponents' hopes for victory. With Chicago's weekend weather forecast calling for rain, Loyola's dirt course promises to be extremely muddy. Forty-eight high school teams and the college women's race will run before the Quakers, which will make conditions even worse. "We ran tough against one of the better teams in the region last week (Navy), and we keep getting better," Powell said after yesterday's practice. On Saturday in Annapolis, Md., the Quakers finished ahead of George Mason and George Washington, losing only to Navy. The race was highlighted by senior captain Paolo Frescura's third-place finish. The team's strong young runners also came through, as freshman Bryan Kobalsky and sophomore Joe Campagna finished sixth and ninth, respectively. Coming off last weekend's impressive performance, the Red and Blue seems ready for the stiff competition ahead.