M. Track soars to second at IC4As

With its highest point total in 26 years, Penn took second behind Georgetown in the IC4A meet at George Mason. With the memory of finishing second to Princeton at the Heptagonal meet still fresh in their minds, the members of the Penn men's track team had their best finish ever under coach Charlie Powell in the 122nd running of the Men's Outdoor IC4A Championships. The Quakers have not finished higher since they won the meet in 1972. With 53 points, the Quakers finished second, behind only the 1998 Indoor IC4A Champions, the Georgetown Hoyas, who amassed 69 points in last weekend's competition at George Mason University. "They (Penn) went out and proved they were one of the best teams in the country," Powell said. Penn's success is partly a result of the individual efforts of two Quakers -- junior Robin Martin and senior Corey Shannon. Martin again raced against Brown's Trinity Gray, who defeated him in the 400 meters at Heps. This time, however, the race was the 800 meter run. During qualifications on Saturday, Gray had the best time, nearly beating the meet record. In the championship heat, however, Martin took the lead with less than 200 meters remaining. Gray clawed his way back, but he was unable to pass Martin. Gray finished third behind Mount St. Mary's Daniel Kinyua and Martin, the race's winner. Martin beat Kinyua by 32 hundredths of a second with his time of 1:47.63. "I was hoping they would take it out fast," Martin said. "I just wanted to make a strong move before anyone else and carry it through, and I was able to do that." "Robin ran a smart race," Powell said. "Everyone has fast times, but Robin finds a way to win." Shannon was the other Quaker to earn ten points with a first place finish. Shannon threw the javelin 219'5", which not only won the IC4As, but it was also the third-farthest throw in Penn history. "Three or four of Corey's six throws would have won the competition," Powell said. "That's how good he was." In another throwing event, the hammer throw, Penn had two athletes earn points for the team. Sophomore Matt Pagliasotti finished in sixth place with a throw of 182'9". Immediately following Pagliasotti in the standings was senior Lucas Deines who hurled the hammer 180'1". Pagliasotti also took sixth place in the discus throw. Other excellent performances in the field were given by juniors Stan Anderson and Dan Nord. Anderson's leap of 50'4.5" in the triple jump placed him fourth overall at the weekend competition. Nord's jump of 24'3" was sixth best in the long jump event. Meanwhile, Martin was not the only Quaker shining on the track. Sean MacMillan finished third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. His run of 8:55.51 was less than three seconds slower than the time of Liberty's Chris McGregor, who won the race in 8:52.61. Finally, both sprint relay teams finished in seventh place. In the 4x100 relay, won by host George Mason, Penn had a time of 40.24 seconds. It took the Red and Blue 3:10.01 to cross the finish line in the 4x400, with East Carolina emerging victorious. After the disappointment of finishing second at Heps, this showing was a great way for the Quakers to bounce back. "Finishing as high as we did was one of our goals from the beginning," Martin said. "We wanted to go after it. We wanted to win it. We have a lot of talent on this team." After a season of ups and downs, Penn managed to finish its season on the best note possible. Throughout the 1998 track season, Penn had been ranked in the top ten nationwide. With their second place finish at IC4As, the Quakers proved their warranted reputation as a track powerhouse.

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