M. Track's relays qualify for IC4As

The Penn men's track team came into last weekend's Delaware Invitational looking for two things. One was qualifying two relay teams for IC4As. The other was getting some much-needed rest. The Quakers achieved both. In Newark, Del., on Saturday and Sunday, the Red and Blue's 4x800-meter and distance medley relay teams not only won their respective events, but both teams also qualified for IC4As in the process. Penn senior Rudy Barthelemy got off to a great start in the 4x800 and the team held the lead for the entire race, winning in 7:50.93 -- more than eight seconds faster than the second place finisher. "Rudy got out to a great start," said Penn freshman Joe Plevelich, who ran the second leg. "We basically just coasted." In addition to Barthelemy and Plevelich, the team also consisted of sophomore Anthony Sager in the third leg and sophomore Sam Burley at anchor. The distance medley relay was a little closer. Penn and Villanova were step-to-step the entire race. Sager, who led off in the 1200 leg, handed off to sophomore Brian Abram, who ran the 400. Plevelich ran the third 800 meter leg, and Burley anchored in the 1600. It was Burley who broke open the race. With the Quakers in second going into the final leg, Burley caught the Wildcat runner and won by more than three seconds in 10:09.03. "The goal was to go in with both [relays] and hit IC4A qualifying times," Plevelich said. "We managed to do that, and everyone did their part." Another strong performance came from sophomore Brendan Callahan, who finished first in the shot put with an throw of 51'03.75". It was an indoor personal best for Callahan. "He's really getting a lot better," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "Anytime you move forward, it's a good thing." Other strong performances were turned in by junior Mike Aguilar and senior Andy Kish. Aguilar finished 20th in the 60-meter dash, with a time of 7.25 seconds. Kish, meanwhile, finished the 5,000-meter run in 15:14.84 -- good enough for third place. In the 60 hurdles, the Quakers turned in the eighth, ninth, and 10th positions with sophomore Jared Shoemaker, freshman Matt Wedge, and Aguilar. Penn freshman Luqman Kolade also turned in a seventh place finish in the long jump with a leap of 21'02.50". Powell was pleased with the Red and Blue's performance. "We just went after relays and a few people," Powell said. "It was nice to see breakthroughs for a few guys." The Quakers -- who now have nearly a dozen runners qualified for IC4As -- ran many people in different events this meet, using it as a rest weekend. But, there was still the goal of qualifying in the relays. "It was just a solid team effort in the relays," Plevelich said. "Everything went according to plan." The Quakers will be looking to continue their strong indoor season this weekend. They travel to State College to compete in the Penn State Collegiate at State College, Pa., this Friday and Saturday. Following that meet, Penn will compete twice in Boston -- at Heps on February 24-25 and in the IC4As on March 2-4.

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