Nothing but first for M. Track

The Penn men's indoor track team ran indoors last weekend, a collegiate-first for almost half the freshmen on the team.

The Quakers practice outdoors year-round, since Penn does not have an indoor track facility.

"The freshmen did really well," Penn tri-captain Brian Abram said. "Running indoor is definitely a learning curve, but they did a good job."

The New Year Invitational Meet, held at Princeton's Jadwin Gym, brought together over 700 athletes from thirteen schools.

In spite of its size, the Quakers considered it a training meet and used the opportunity to regain the competitive mindset that brought them second place at the prestigious Heptagonal Indoor Championships last year. They hope to stretch it into a first-place finish at this year's Indoor Heps at the end of February.

The Quakers are determined to bring their talents into focus and are proud that the team is performing better now than at the same time last year.

"We have a better mentality [than last year]," Abram said. "We had a great fall training season and it was exemplified in our performance last weekend. We were really pleased with our results at Princeton."

The freshmen Quakers have now tasted their first collegiate competition indoors and are poised to contribute even more to the team's success than they already have.

"The freshmen all have lots of energy," Penn sophomore Chris Edmonds said. "That has helped us get through practice lots of times."

The team's spirit is strong, though somewhat different from last year.

"We definitely have a lot more unique characters on the team than last year," Penn tri-captain Chun-Yi Sun said. "A lot of freshmen and sophomores are stepping up, so it's not just a team of juniors and seniors."

The coaching staff have commended the team's drive and their accomplishments so far, but, with an eye on the upcoming Heptagonals, warn the Quakers not to rest on their laurels.

"The coaches' major focus was that it's great, as long as we keep going farther ahead," Abram said.

The Quakers continue to practice during finals week, though academic concerns, such as final exam schedules, obviously take precedence. They are also expected to work out regularly and to stay focused over winter break.

The first weekend in January Penn will travel to Annapolis to compete against arch-rival and member of the Heptagonal league, Navy.

"Navy is in Heps, and of course we are always looking to beat anyone who is in the league," Abram said. "The other team [at the meet] will be Wake Forest, but we hardly see them once a year, and we don't know ahead of time how many people they will send or how hard they will run, so that part will be a surprise for us."

Few runners live close enough to practice together during breaks, but the tri-captains are not particularly worried.

"We trust our guys," Abram said. "They'll practice on their own and we just remind them to make sure to keep focused and keep working hard, the way they have been doing."

The Red and Blue have determined motivation, healthy cooperation and a strong work ethic on their side as they go into the first major meet of the season.

"We do have a lot of people ready to step up this season and fill in the holes," Sun said. "We will do a better job than last year."

The Quakers will not be satisfied unless doing a better job leads them to a top finish.

"We won't accept anything less than first place at Heps," Abram said.

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