Frosh help M. Track sink Navy

In its first team meet of the season, the Penn men's indoor track team scored 85 points to sink Navy (72 points) and destroy Virginia Commonwealth (24 points). Saturday's competition at the U.S. Naval Academy was highlighted by several athletes qualifying for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) championships and the emergence of freshmen, who added key contributions to the scoring. Penn senior Mike Stiffler and freshman Mike Aguillar finished first and second, respectively, in the 400 meter run, with times of 49.14 and 49.85 seconds. These times enabled both runners to qualify for the IC4As. Quakers senior Paolo Frescura also qualified for the IC4As with a 4:15.13 time in the mile. In the field events, the Red and Blue likewise had their share of IC4A qualifiers. Penn junior Rich Carlson, who finished second behind fellow Quaker Stan Anderson, high jumped 6 feet 11 inches -- good enough for an IC4A qualification. Senior Lucas Deines also qualified with a throw of 59 feet and 5.5 inches in the 35-pound weight. These performances were especially important, given that many of Penn's top athletes missed the meet. Mid-distance runners Robin Martin and Aaron McCommons sat out of the meet with a cold and a nagging achilles tendon injury, respectively. Many less-known Quakers proved their toughness by stepping up in the duo's absence. "Very rarely is a team 100 percent healthy," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "The good teams rise above that." Crucial to Penn's success was the contribution of the freshman class. Before the meet, Powell was anxious to see how the rookies would react to a team competition. But freshmen Aguillar, Andrew Girardin, Aaron Prokopec, Mike Wise and Kyle Turley all stepped up to register points for the Quakers -- amassing 15 out of Penn's 85 total, which proved to be the difference in the Quakers' 13-point edging of the Midshipmen. "We've got the basis, but we're not a championship team yet," Powell said. "We might be able to be a better team than year." Last year's team won the Indoor Heptagonals for the first time since 1984. Nevertheless, the performance of the freshman class coupled with the leadership of Stiffler, Anderson and Dan Nord could enable this year's team to be more successful. "Over the next month we are going to work on being a championship team," Powell said. Next week, the Quakers head to Virginia Tech for an invitational where Powell expects to see good competition from some of the best athletes in the nation. This is a perfect opportunity for him to push the Red and Blue to the next level. Victories over Navy and Virginia Commonwealth give the Quakers a solid start to their season. The accomplishments of the IC4A qualifiers and the anticipated impact of the freshman class puts the indoor track team exactly where they want to be. Men's track has the tools to be champions. Now they just have to make it happen.