M. Track hopes to surprise again in IC4As

The Quakers finished second in the meet last year but have lost 14 team members to graduation. Last year the Penn men's track team finished second at the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America track meet -- the highest place by an Ivy League or Heptagonal team in 25 years. But this is not the same Quakers team -- Penn has graduated 14 athletes that scored in IC4As last year. "That's akin in football to graduating every member of the offensive team and half of the second string," Penn assistant coach Nathan Taylor said. The loss of so many top athletes took its toll on the Quakers during much of the indoor and early outdoor seasons, but Penn finally pulled it all together for a third-place finish at the Heptagonal Championship on the weekend of May 1-2. However, few expect the Red and Blue to put together another second-place finish at this weekends IC4As at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va. But the Quakers will be no pushover. "If each individual comes close to [setting personal records], we have a chance to finish in the top five or six," Taylor said. Penn will be led by senior Stan Anderson, who has qualified for both indoor and outdoor IC4As in all four years he has been at Penn. Anderson has scored in each of his previous seven competitions, and this weekend should be no exception. Anderson, who will compete in the triple jump, jumped 52'2.5'' at Heps. That mark would have qualified him for Nationals, but the wind conditions exceeded the maximum 4.0 miles per hour. "My goal is to make Nationals," Anderson said. "I definitely haven't been lifting as hard so I can peak. I've just got to get on the runway and get my steps right." Sean MacMillan will join Anderson in returning to IC4A competition this weekend. The junior steeplechaser finished third at IC4As last year, but has had to battle back from injury this season. "I think I'm pretty close to what I was last year," MacMillan said. "Two weeks ago, through the first 2,000 [meters], I was on pace to qualify for Nationals. I just have to hold on and it'll be easier with more people in the race. There were basically two people running [at that race]." MacMillan, in order to build his speed, has been training with 800 runner Andrew Girardin the past week. Girardin has consistently lowered his personal record from 1:53 to 1:50.5 this season, but he will be running in what Taylor calls "the most competitive event in the meet." There were six All-Americans in the 800 at this meet last year, and this year should be no different. Girardin will likely need to run under 1:48 just to make the finals. Another track runner, Mike Aguilar, looks to make a big impact in the intermediate hurdles. Aguilar has been hampered by injury most of the season, but Taylor believes the sophomore is ready to break out this weekend. "He has looked very good -- not just good -- in practice," Taylor said. Although MacMillan, Girardin and Aguilar will make their presence felt on the track, the Quakers will be strongest in the field. Sophomore javelin thrower Seth Beaver and junior Brent Stiles (shot put) will join junior Matt Pagliasotti (discus and hammer throw) in the throwing events. Pagliasotti, who was sixth in both the discus and hammer throw last year, is looking for a top three finish in the hammer throw this year. Virginia Tech's Erick Kingston and Princeton's Hugh Kennedy will be his top competition. "I'm just going in trying to get points for the team," Pagliasotti said. Joining Anderson in the jumps will be senior long jumper Dan Nord and freshman triple jumper Tuan Wreh. Nord, coming off a series of injuries, jumped 6.90 meters in Heps, --his first meet in two months. He followed that performance up with a 7.29 meter jump the following weekend. "He's getting stronger every week," Taylor said of the Quakers' co-captain. Wreh gives Penn a deadly combination in the triple jump. While Anderson has been jumping near 52 feet, Wreh has a PR of 50'2''. "I've been jumping in that 50 foot range the past couple weeks and hopefully IC4As is where I'll break out," Wreh said. Penn's strongest event might be the pole vault, however. Three Quakers qualified for IC4As, as junior Bob Reynolds and sophomores Luke Stokes and Aaron Prokopec will all be looking to score points for the Red and Blue. "We've been working on going faster as well as tapering for the meet," Prokopec said. Penn will have a smaller team going to IC4As this year, but the Quakers still have enough depth to make an impact this weekend in Virginia.

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