Sports Briefs: Monday, April 17, 2000

Bayer jumps to No. 8 in world rankings after win Bayer moved from 10th to eighth in the world rankings with the win and clinched a qualification to the 2000 Olympics. He was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. Bayer is regarded by many as the American with the best shot of medaling in Sydney. --Will Ulrich Harvard linebacker selected in fourth round of NFL Draft The Seattle Seahawks picked Harvard linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski in the fourth round of the NFL Draft yesterday in New York. Kacyvenski is the Crimson's all-time leading tackler and the only Harvard player ever to start all 40 games in a career. One of only 20 players ever named first-team All-Ivy three times in a career, Kacyvenski all but singlehandedly kept Harvard in the Ivy League race with his defensive heroics over the course of the season. Kacyvenski's selection marks the third straight season in which an Ivy Leaguer has been picked in the NFL Draft. Last year, Penn running back Jim Finn, the 1998 Ivy League Player of the Year, was dubbed "Mr. Irrelevant" as the draft's final selection with the Chicago Bears. Sean Morey, a wide receiver from Brown, was picked by the New England Patriots early in the seventh round. Two years ago, Penn defensive lineman Mitch Marrow was picked in the third round by the Carolina Panthers. This year's Ivy League Player of the Year, Brown quarterback James Perry, was not drafted. --Jesse Spector 2000 Penn Relays kickoff early with Distance Classic The 2000 Penn Relays are eight days away from taking center stage at Franklin Field, but that didn't stop runners yesterday from taking part in the Penn Relays Distance Classic. Olympic hopeful Jerry Lawson won the men's 20-kilometer race with a time of 1:04.6 between the early morning raindrops. The Boulder, Colo., native outdistanced the field by nearly two seconds. The women's winner in the 20K was Temple senior Jenae Strader. Both 20K winners were victorious in their first appearance in the race. Strader, who hails from Lansdale, Pa., was joined in victory by fellow Lansdale native Dennis Packard, who won the men's 5K race in 16:14. The women's 5K winner was Anne Burke, who works in Penn's gastrointestinal department. Burke ran the race in a time of 20:54. --J. S.