To-Tully talented for M. X-C

Penn freshman Nolan Tully is enjoying collegiate life in Philadelphia, and collegiate competition on the cross country course.

Hailing from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where "the only stuff going on is horse-racing in August," Tully looked forward to moving to Philly and enjoying the faster pace of big-city life.

"There's a lot of stuff going on, a lot of opportunities," Tully said. "I think I've made the adjustment to Philadelphia pretty well."

Adjusting to the college-level intensity of cross country competition has been more of an obstacle, but Tully and the other Penn freshmen have proven up to the challenge.

The Quakers were hoping to see the rewards of their hard work at the Heptagonal Championships two weekends ago, but were bitterly disappointed by their last-place showing. The intensity of the competition against their traditional Ivy League rivals and Navy, combined with a challenging course, undid their concentration.

"Cross country is a very very tough sport," Penn coach Charlie Powell said. "You don't get instant rewards.

"When you play tennis and learn a great serve, you can see the results right away on the court. But in cross country, you put in months and months of work in order to see a result."

Tully, a seasoned runner who has competed since the eighth grade, was expecting just that.

"The season has gone pretty much how I expected it to," he said. "I didn't expect to come in and do well right away. It's a big adjustment to the level of competition in Division I, and adjusting to the longer race."

High school cross country races are no more than five kilometers, whereas collegiate races are 8K or 10K.

That extra distance is very difficult to work up to, and the freshmen have accomplished a lot since they arrived at cross country camp last summer to work with the returning Quakers.

But according to Tully, the struggle has its own rewards.

"I think the education that you get from running will help with life in general," Tully said. "When you run competitively, you have to budget your time well, because you have to get to practice and do your homework and get all your stuff done.... It's a good way to stop yourself from wasting time."

In spite of professing this belief in structured time management, Tully still hasn't decided on a major.

"I'm just enjoying my freshman year," he said.

So why does Tully keep coming back year after year to the torture of seemingly endless miles of running, day after day?

"I just like to compete." he said. "Also, I've put that much time into it that it would be kind of ridiculous to stop."

As a junior in high school, he ran in front of Powell, who confessed that he had his doubts about Tully.

"I saw this tall, gangly, kind of gawky runner," Powell said, "and I was not real sure that he was the guy I was going after."

However, the next fall Powell saw a completely different picture.

"I saw him run at the New York State meet, and thought, 'That's not the same runner,'" Powell said. "He had clearly put a lot of mileage and work into it over the summer, and I thought, 'Wow, that's somebody I really need.'"

Tully's eighth-place finish at that meet was impressive enough, but to Powell it did not even compare with the poise Tully displayed while running.

Powell recruited Tully through his prep coach and his mother, as well as selling him personally on the idea that at Penn he could really be a contributor right away and grow with the team.

The strategy worked, and in fact Tully started contributing to the Quakers immediately, placing 10th overall and third on the Red and Blue at the Philly Classic, the first meet of the season.

"So far this season, my greatest accomplishment is 25:42 at the Philly Classic," Tully said, "But hopefully the greatest point of all will come on Saturday [at the District Championship]."

Even after the extensive research and recruiting effort, Powell said he has learned a lot about Tully this season.

"I realize now what a team player he is," Powell said. "And he's got a lot more speed than I thought he had. He's just tough. I have watched him work very hard."

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