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Penn's Aaron Prokopec won the pole vault competition with a height of 4.95 meters. ( Stefan Miltchev/The Daily Pennsylvanian)

On any other day, finishing nearly 50 points behind the leading scorer would be a disappointment for the Penn men's track team. But when the Quakers are able to outscore their nemesis Princeton, as they did last Saturday at Franklin Field, ending the day in second place by a sizable margin is as insignificant to Penn as shelling out millions of dollars is to the New York Yankees. "It was a good momentum-builder and we were able to send a message [to Princeton] that we're a contender for the Heps title," Penn junior jumper Tuan Wreh said. Penn State was the victor in last weekend's meet, tallying 215.5 points, while Villanova finished last with 127.5 points. But the scores of these two state rivals were not foremost in the minds of Penn's athletes. What really mattered to the Red and Blue is that they were able to avenge recent defeats they suffered at the hands of the Tigers. Princeton won last year's outdoor Heptagonal Championships and this year's indoor Heps. The Quakers beat the boys from Old Nassau by nine points on Saturday, 166-157. "We're not too concerned with Penn State," Penn sophomore runner Brian Abram said. "It's unfortunate that we lost to them, but they are a much bigger school than us and that dampens the fact that we lost. "We lost to Princeton last year outdoors, which left a sour taste in our mouths. Everyone is ecstatic that we beat Princeton because we now know, come Heps, that we can hang with them." Despite the uplifting team victory over Princeton, there is a catch that prevents the Quakers from resting on their laurels. "It was a starting point, but they didn't have four of their best guys," Penn junior Tony Ragucci said. "We still have to continue to work. We can't fall back on the fact that we beat them here." Notwithstanding the absence of several key Tigers, the Quakers attribute their win over Princeton to Penn's versatile attack. "We're pretty good across the board and it helps for us to apply pressure to Princeton in every event," Wreh said. The Red and Blue also have a "refuse to lose" mentality in the confines of Franklin Field. "The meet was in our house and when it comes to teams like Princeton, we don't like to lose on our field," Abram said. A sunshine-filled warm day with little wind was also a boost for the Quakers, who have competed in adverse conditions in their other meets at Franklin Field. "Finally getting good weather on the weekend, coupled with good competition, brought out the best in us and enabled us to compete well," Wreh said. Although team balance was a key contributor to the success of Penn last weekend, several individuals led the team to victory. Ragucci won the steeplechase in 9:09.30. While this was the Quakers' lone first-place finish on the track, they racked up a lot of wins in the field. Penn freshman Adam Chubb continued his dominance in the high jump by leaping a height of 2.10 meters. Aaron Prokopec won the pole vault by clearing 4.95 meters. In the triple jump, Wreh crushed the field by more than a meter with a mark of 15.29 meters. Penn's Seth Beaver was not to be outdone in the javelin throw, as he won the event by more than three meters with a hurl of 65.74 meters. Penn will participate in the Columbia Invitational this weekend.

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