The Penn men's cross country team had perfect weather on Saturday for its race at the Michigan Intercollegiate meet.
Unfortunately, they were unable to run that day on account of obstacles throughout the course. The Michigan homecoming football game was held on Saturday, and overflow of parking and partying forced the race's postponement until the following day.
Sunday's weather was, to put it mildly, not so good. The Quakers slogged through mud and torrents of rain to a fourth-place finish. Host Michigan finished first, followed by Purdue and Montana State. Western Michigan rounded out the five team field in last place.
Three Quakers placed in the top 20 last weekend. Team captain Matt Gioffre finished 16th, with freshman runners Dusty Lieb and Nolan Tully close behind in 17th and 18th place, respectively.
"We had some groups that worked together like [Gioffre, Lieb, and Tully]," Penn junior Kevin Patric said. "That helps when we are out in Michigan and don't really know the competition that well."
A women's cross country race competed just before the men on the same course, leaving the golf course's short grass a torn and slippery mess.
"It was pretty muddy and slippery when we ran," Patric said. "It was not a fast course at all, it was pretty hilly."
In spite of the inhospitable conditions, the Quakers pushed forward to the finish line.
"Coach Powell said he was real happy with the way we fought -- the way we responded to everything and didn't just give up," Patric said. "It had rained all night Saturday night and into Sunday morning. Plus, the course was pretty hilly. The two factors together definitely slowed it down a lot more than a typical race."
The Quakers have this weekend off to dry out before turning to the focus of their season, the Heptagonal Championships on Oct. 26 at Van Cortlandt Park in New York . There, Penn will face its Ivy League rivals and Navy.
"We are looking forward to the Heps, that's what our whole season is geared toward," Patric explained. "We have a lot of freshmen that are pretty energetic and excited."
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