M. Track stomps Brits at Franklin Field in international duel

Just minutes away from Independence Hall, where the United States officially broke ties with England almost 225 years ago, the British and Americans met in combat once again yesterday. In a much less costly struggle, the Penn men's track squad teamed up with Cornell to take on Oxford and Cambridge at the Penn Invitational at Franklin Field. While other area teams were also competing, the focus for the Quakers was to overcome their overseas counterparts. The United States-England series predates the modern Olympics, and competitors on both sides of the Atlantic look forward to the meet each time it comes around. "It was a lot of fun competing against those guys," junior jumper Tuan Wreh said. "Track is the type of sport where everyone does things pretty much the same, but there is room for variation, and it was fun to see those differences." The British athletes relished the opportunity to compete at the sight of the storied Penn Relays. "To think that people like Marion Jones and Michael Johnson will be running here in three weeks is pretty amazing," Oxford University hurdler Jonathan Crawshaw said. Like the Revolution, the Americans were able to overcome their opponents from across the Atlantic. The Quakers and the Big Red combined to secure eight first-place finishes -- six of which Penn brought home -- compared to four winners from Oxford and Cambridge. The Quakers were again hitting on all cylinders, excelling in the field events as well as the races. Freshman Adam Chubb leapt to first place in the high jump, clearing 2.03 meters. In the discus, seniors Seth Beaver and Charlie O'Connell finished with the top two marks, hurling 61.44 and 60.24 meters, respectively. On the track, the Quakers earned top honors in both sprints and long distance races. Senior Laethe Coleman blew by the rest of the pack in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.87 seconds. In the 400-meter dash, Bryan Abram bested the field by circling the track in 48.65 seconds. Senior Bryan Kovalsky endured the 5,000-meter run and finished with a time of 14:30.80, which was good enough for first place. In the 4 x 100 relay, Penn beat out the British squad by two-tenths of a second, with a time of 41.3 seconds. "It was a solid performance," Penn distance runner Andy Kish said. "The competition was better and we performed better." While the Quakers are content with their performance against their international foes, they realize that next week's battle against local teams -- one of which is rival Princeton -- will be a true test of how far they've come this season. "It's not the end of the road but we're moving in the right direction," Wreh said. "The meets become more and more intense and mean more and more. We have to keep being competitive and be ready to bump heads with strong teams."

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