M. Track places 20th at IC4As

The Quakers fail to duplicate last year's surprise second-place finish. Penn was in perfect position coming into the last turn of its qualifying heat for the 4x100 meters -- a step behind first-place Pittsburgh with junior Shawn Fernandes ready to anchor the relay to a fast finish. But Fernandes never got a chance to use his blazing speed, as the exchange between sophomore Mike Aguilar and the Penn junior was not within the legal passing zone. "Whether Shawn took off early or he was feeling extra fast, I don't know," said senior Dan Nord, the second leg of the 4x100. "He was literally six inches too far ahead of Mike." The 4x100 was a microcosm of Penn's performance at the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championship -- plenty of potential, but a lack of execution. The Quakers finished tied for 20th in the 47-team field at George Mason Stadium last weekend -- not a bad showing, but a far cry from their second-place performance of a year ago. "We did not do some of the things we thought we could do," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. The highlight of the meet for the Quakers was the triple jump. Senior Stan Anderson and freshman Tuan Wreh scored eight of Penn's 13.5 points with fourth and sixth place finishes, respectively. But even that event was tinged with disappointment. "Stan was trying to pull off the monster jump and he just didn't," Powell said. "We thought Tuan could jump more in the 15.1, 15.2 [meter] range and Stan could jump 15.8 or 15.9 [meters] and get first or second." Anderson's mark of 15.45 meters (50'8.25'') was below the standard needed to qualify for Nationals. The senior had jumped 52'2.5'' at Heptagonals three weeks earlier, but the wind exceeded the maximum allowed under NCAA rules. "If it wasn't for the fact that Stan's jump was wind-aided, he would have easily qualified," Powell said. Instead, Anderson had to settle for a 3.75'' improvement over his performance from a year ago. Wreh, meanwhile, leapt a respectable 15.06 meters (49'5'') to score three points for the Quakers. Penn's other three scorers in the meet were junior Sean MacMillan and sophomores Aaron Prokopec and Seth Beaver. Last year MacMillan finished third in the steeplechase in 8:55.51. But the junior from Amityville, N.Y., has had to battle back from injury this season. MacMillan pulled in a strong performance to close out his season on Sunday, placing seventh in 9:05.70. "He ran an extremely competitive race," Powell said. "He was never out of the top six or seven and the only reason he was seventh was because one kid from Harvard [Scott Muoio] came from way back to run down three guys in the last 150 meters." Prokopec, meanwhile, led the three Penn pole vaulters at IC4As with a jump of 4.90 meters (16'0.75'') -- good enough to tie him for eighth place. "Aaron vaulted well and had two very good attempts at 16'6''," Powell said. Junior Bobby Reynolds turned in an 11th-place performance in the pole vault with a clearing height of 4.80 meters (15'9''), while sophomore Luke Stokes failed to make opening height. Beaver, meanwhile, earned three points for the Quakers with a sixth in the javelin. His mark of 201 feet was a 7'8'' improvement over last year, where he finished 11th at IC4As. On the whole, the Penn throwers had a subpar day, however -- including Matt Pagliasotti. The junior finished sixth in both the discus and hammer throw last year, but placed only 28th and 12th, respectively, this year. Sophomore Andy Girardin had hoped to make a splash in the deep pool of runners in the 800, but ended up last in the preliminary heat. His time of 1:54.75 was well off his personal record, but Powell believes the race was a good learning experience. "It was his first time with the really big boys and the first time where everyone can run under 1:50," Powell said. "He really stuck his nose out and he'll be ready for next year." Long jumper Nord also had a tough day, finishing only 18th after reinjuring his hamstring. In the team scoring last weekend, Georgetown ran away with the title. The Hoyas scored 103 points, besting second-place Liberty by 31. Penn was third among Ivy League schools, behind Princeton (6th, 45.5 points) and Brown (16th, 15.5).

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