M. X-C seniors get final shot at Heps

When the current class of cross country seniors came to Penn four years ago, confidence rode high. These were supposed to be the runners who would challenge for the much-coveted Heptagonal crown. Now, after three unsuccessful stabs, the remaining members of the Class of 2000 -- Sean MacMillan, Scott Clayton and Mark Granshaw -- are in a position to erase those three years of disappointment. When they take the starting line at 1:30 p.m. at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx today, they have the opportunity to get the monkey off their back for good. They have a realistic shot at vying for a Heptagonal Championship. "We had a meeting earlier in the week," Penn sophomore Matt Caporaletti said. "The older guys just sat us down and said that they're tired of not getting the job done at this meet." Last year, Heps was something of an embarrassment for the Quakers. They only managed a sixth-place finish in the nine-team race (the eight Ivy League schools and Navy). There were certainly mitigating circumstances last year at Heps, however. MacMillan was laid up with the flu and was unable to make it to Van Cortlandt. Clayton was the only Penn runner to crack the top 10 and the Quakers had only two runners in the top 25. This year is a very different story. "All our big guys are healthy, so we're ready to go for it," Caporaletti said. Penn has been thoroughly impressive at certain points this season. On October 1, the Quakers got the best of regional rivals Villanova, La Salle and Keene State en route to a victory at the Belmont Plateau here in Philadelphia. The victory made waves because Villanova had done extraordinarily well earlier this year. Two weeks ago on the Van Cortlandt course, Penn finished fourth out of 13 teams at the IC4A Championships. MacMillan finished in a blistering time of 24:47 and Clayton was right behind, crossing the line in 24:49. Sophomore Matt Gioffre was the third Penn runner to finish with a time of 25:18. The Quakers fell only to Princeton, Duke and Penn State. The Tigers won the meet with 70 points. Defending Heps champ Princeton will likely be at or near the top today. The slim margin of 23 points at IC4As has given Penn a shot of confidence. "If a few different things happened, we could very easily have been right up there with Princeton," Caporaletti said. Dartmouth and Brown will probably be the other two squads that will give Princeton a run for their money. The Big Green have turned heads all year and currently carry a No. 21 national ranking. The Bears, who are now listed at No. 22, however, have only recently made some noise. "Coach [Charlie] Powell thinks we stack up better than Brown. We think we're a better team," Caporaletti said. The emphasis is not just on this weekend, however. The Quakers' primary goal is to make it to the NCAA Championships on November 22 at Indiana University. A top-two finish at regionals two weeks from now may ensure a trip to Bloomington, but a strong performance this weekend might give the Quakers a leg-up on an at-large bid. Today, of course, the emphasis is on the here and now. The emphasis is on this Class of 2000 winning its first and only Heptagonal championship.