M. X-C stumbles at starting line

From the sidelines, Penn freshmen Josh Joseph, George Weiner and Stephen Hayes all saw the opening scene of the Paul Short Invitational on Saturday morning.

They watched, and they learned.

274 runners from 39 teams stretched across the starting line in Bethlehem, Pa., and seven of those runners were wearing red and blue Penn jerseys.

Those seven were bunched together toward one side of the line, with less than two dozen opposing runners separating them from the inside pole. And when the gun went off, the Penn septet nearly disappeared in the wave of runners, stuck in the rear outside of the pack.

As this was happening, Joseph, Weiner and Hayes ran along the course to cheer on their teammates. The three watched and learned.

The Quakers did eventually recover in the eight-kilometer race, placing fifth in the Invite with a score of 193. Senior Matt Gioffre finished 14th in 25:11.23 to pace the team, while freshman Dustin Lieb was 21st and junior Anthony Sager finished 31st.

But the finish -- behind Penn State, Bucknell, West Virginia and Haverford -- wasn't what the Red and Blue had hoped for, and it was mostly due to their start.

"We weren't too happy with our performance," said Penn senior Matt Caporaletti, who finished 74th in the race. "We could have gotten out a little more aggressively and run the way we're capable of."

Had the Penn harriers started quicker, the not-so-wide paths and large crowds of spectators would have been merely minor obstacles, not major roadblocks.

"At a big meet like this, the crowd spills onto the course," Caporaletti said. "So I had to go out of and around the pack to pass people. I felt like I was driving and pulling up on the shoulder to pass."

Joseph, Weiner and Hayes saw the time and energy-draining passing maneuvers the Quakers had to execute. They watched, they learned, and they figured they would not try to emulate them.

In the open race, held two hours later on Saturday, the Penn runners started quicker and ran almost as well.

Joseph finished ninth, Weiner 11th and Hayes 15th in the non-varsity race. And their times of 25:49.20, 25:51.53 and 25:54.14 were all better than that of the fourth-best Penn finisher in the Invitational race, freshman Nolan Tully.

Weather played a part, as it was rainy and windy for the Invite and just windy for the Open. But strategy played a bigger part. The Quakers runners didn't let themselves get boxed in during that later race.

"The [non-varsity] guys really learned from what we did," Tully said. "They definitely got a better position early in the race."

For that watching and learning that Joseph, Weiner and Hayes did, Penn coach Charlie Powell was pleased. But he wasn't quite as pleased with the results of the invite, so he sent out an e-mail to his runners after the race, reminding them that he had said all week to start quicker to avoid getting boxed in.

"[Powell] said we need to do that next time, because [not getting out front early] can really screw up your race," Joseph said. "Especially in big races like that."

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