Tigers take bite out of M. Track

The overmatched Quakers showed definite signs of life with six wins and several PRs. The rumors of the death of the Penn men's track and field team have been greatly exaggerated. After a hugely disappointing seventh-place finish at the Indoor Heptagonal Championships in February, the Quakers must have flirted with dire thoughts. Saturday's dual meet against rival Princeton taught two important lessons, however. One, Penn is not yet ready to beat the nationally stellar Tigers. Two, they are ready, willing and able to avenge their winter embarrassment and make waves in the east. "We haven't yet been able to hit on all cylinders," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "Princeton is one of the best teams assembled and they beat us pretty good. There's still plenty that's very, very encouraging." The 105-58 Princeton victory in the meet that got underway on Saturday at 11:30 at Franklin Field only tells half of the story. "Half this team PRed and I think we're all pretty happy about that," Penn sophomore middle-distance runner Andy Girardin said. Girardin was impressive on Saturday. A December injury kept him from training much of the winter but he now appears better than ever. He set a personal best of 1:52 in a going-away victory over second-place Matt Notari from Princeton. Next weekend Girardin will have an excellent chance to qualify for IC4As if his time can improve to sub-1:52. Girardin's win was one of six for Penn on the day. Two of those came from the Red and Blue's array of sprinters. In the first event of the day, the 4x100-meter relay, the Quakers squeaked past the Tigers with a time of 41.7 seconds. The race was neck-and-neck until sophomore Darryl Olczak took the baton to run the third leg. A perfect exchange got Olczak into high gear as he sprinted ahead of Princeton freshman James Murphy. He made his way around the turn and gave the stick to junior standout Shawn Fernandes, who ran the winning anchor leg. "When you're up against a team as good as they are, you need to get up and prove right away that you're there and you're serious," Powell said. Fernandez later went on to win the 100-meter dash. His 10.8 bested Paul Elcock of Princeton and Gene Sun of Penn, who took second and third. Olczak was not done yet either. He would later post a personal best by nearly a full second with a 48.4 in the 400 meters. He was within striking distance of Princeton victor Charlie Phelps. The Penn jumping crew, headed by senior Stan Anderson and freshman Tuan Wreh, continued to solidify its role as an ace-in-the-hole for the Quakers. Anderson won the triple jump with a winning leap of 49'9". Wreh was a close second. Wreh got the best of his elder in the long jump, however. His second-place jump of 22'9.25" put him behind the Princeton winner but bested the third-place Anderson. Anderson tied for the lead in the high jump with a 6'11" clearance. This outdoor personal best puts him alone at fourth-place on the all-time Penn list. "I'm very pleased with the job that Tuan continues to do," Anderson said. "There were some things I would have liked to do differently but I think the meet was a success." "Stan continues to solidify himself as one of the most consistent forces in the region," Powell said. Junior Sean Macmillan showed signs of regaining the form that made him a cross country pacesetter earlier in the year. His second-place finish in the 3000-meter steeple with a time of 9:27.7 was not a very close second but shows that the Penn distance squad, which has been mired in injuries throughout this campaign, may still be a factor. The pole vault was a distinct bright spot for the Quakers. They swept the top three. Sophomore Aaron Prokopec took first with a clearance of 16'6"; junior Bob Reynolds took second after vaulting 15'6" and junior John Church jumped 15'. The throwers for the Quakers were unable to get the best of the Tigers on Saturday. Still, high-quality performances were turned in by Matt Pagliasotti and sophomore Kyle Turley -- who finished second and third in the hammer, respectively -- and by junior Brent Stiles, who finished third in the shot put. Princeton's final margin may have been significant but the Quakers are alive and kicking.