M.X-C pack crosses finsih line in top 11

Sophomore runner Joe Campagna didn't need a lot of words to describe the Penn men's cross country team's performance last Saturday: "Awesome." The Quakers ran away from the competition at the Wolf and Kettle Invitational, hosted by Loyola (Ill.) in Chicago. Penn was led by Bryan Kobalsky, Jason Greene, Scott Clayton, captain Paolo Frescura and Joe Campagna, who all finished within 17 seconds of each other. With all of these runners in the top 11 overall, the Red and Blue easily defeated Purdue, Drake, Butler and Loyola. "It was the first time we had our top five runners so close together," Campagna said. The Quakers generally keep together in a pack for as long as possible in order both to help each other and to intimidate the opposition. "It gives teammates someone to key off of because they know what [everyone is] going to do," Frescura said. An encouraging sign is the success of the younger runners, with a freshman and three sophomores finishing in the top 11 overall. The Quakers were led by freshman Bryan Kobalsky, who finished second overall. "Bryan ran a phenomenal race," Frescura said. "He was working a lot on his own." Kobalsky finished within eight seconds of overall champion Justin Young of Butler. But the individual win was not the key to a Quakers team that is already gelling in only its second race. The total times for the race were not really useful because the race was cut short, to somewhere just under five miles instead of the regulation five miles. Entering the invitational, the Red and Blue had been concerned about unfavorable weather conditions. They were blessed with temperatures in the low 70s, little humidity and only light showers the day before the race. The only concern in an otherwise ideal day had to be the struggle of senior Aaron McCommons, who is usually among Penn's first finishers. McCommons was suffering from a sinus cold, but he sacrificed himself for the good of the team. "He couldn't push as hard," Frescura said, explaining that the team's concern was more for McCommons' health than his performance. The success of the Quakers could not have come at a more opportune time. This Saturday's Iona Invitational will take place at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. This race is the cross country league championship -- the team's ultimate goal. The Quakers hope to improve on last year's 10th-place finish out of 24 teams. More importantly, the runners hope to familiarize themselves with the course, the site of the Heptagonal Championships at the end of the year.