Paul Derr stadium in Raleigh, N.C., was hardly a likely venue for a crosstown duel between the Penn men's track track team and La Salle in the 4x800 meter relay.
When anchor Sam Burley received the baton, Penn was in sixth place.
But after successfully chasing down four competitors, Burley could not pass his last victim -- the local rival.
"I don't think there's anyone on the team we'd rather see with the baton in his hand," junior Matt Wedge said.
After Burley's near-heroic effort, the Quakers finished little more than a second behind their crosstown rival.
Despite the second-place finish, Penn's name had an asterisk next to it in the meet's official results.
It read: "notable split: Sam Burley, 1:45.6," and it was the only asterisk in any event on the weekend.
Burley's effort was only a second away from earning the Quakers' a first place finish in the 4x800m relay at the prestigious Raleigh Relays on the campus of North Carolina State.
His split nearly matched last year's scorching time of 1:45.39, which made him the fastest American in the event at the time.
And this weekend's meet was only the second of the season.
"Burley is the man," Wedge said. "When it comes down to the last part of the race, he seems to have a gear that other guys don't."
Although Penn's Wyoming-native could not catch La Salle, his blistering time -- at such an early stage in the season -- bodes well for his quest to win the 800m at nationals for the first time in his esteemed collegiate career.
Burley also competed on last year's Heptagonal Champion 4x400m team.
Though none of the Quakers' individual splits merited an asterisk, the team's eight place result of 3:13.25 seemed promising.
In other relays, Penn finished 19th in the 4x100m in 42.31 and 22nd in the 4x200m with a time of 1:29.03.
In individual competition, junior Matt Wedge qualified for the finals in the 110m hurdles.
Wedge was one of only four collegiate runners to make the finals. The junior faced many professionals training for the Olympics and past All-Americans in the race.
"To be able to run against those guys was a great honor," Wedge said.
However, Wedge was disappointed with his ninth-place finish of 14.79.
"I was pretty displeased with my performance in the finals," he said.
Penn's sophomore-led distance contingent -- which appears poised to make a stronger contribution this year at Heps -- had an auspicious showing in its first taste of national competition.
In the 5,000m, a race won by Alan Webb -- whose high school mile record of 3:53 in 2001 gained him national fame -- Penn's Nolan Tully finished 15th with a time of 14:31.68.
Sophomore Steve Hayes described Tully as "pretty optimistic" about his efforts.
Against comparable elite competition, Hayes earned seventh place in the 1,500m with a time of 3:54.85.
Hayes expressed ambivalence with his result.
"I was hoping to go a little faster," he said. "But it was early in the season, I was happy with it."
Despite the stellar efforts of Hayes and Tully, the distance team's leader is still missing.
Sophomore Dusty Lieb was not able to finish his 5,000m race. He has been hampered by illness and injury since the winter.
"We are hoping to get Dusty back by Heps," Hayes said.
With the Penn Invitational next on the schedule, the Quakers' goal of defending their Heptagonal championships seems attainable.
"There's always work that needs to be done," Wedge said. "But at this point, I think we're right where we want to be."
