For most, one-one hundredth of a second is an inconsequential unit of time -- a mere snap of the finger.
For Penn men's track star Sam Burley, one one-hundredth of a second was the difference between harrowing failure and prodigious triumph.
With 200 meters left in the 800m finals at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, CA, Burley was in an all too familiar position -- second place at nationals. At the 150m mark, Burley summoned what remained in his debilitated energy reserve, galloping passed Jonathan Johnson of Texas Tech who had been leading for virtually the entire race.
But Burley's lead proved transient. Johnson, striking back, blazed past Burley, and the epic duel for first place began. Johnson held off Burley for virtually the entire final straightaway, but the Penn senior was not to be denied.
In a gutsy move that is sure to linger in the Texas Tech's star mind for years to come, Burley, spurred on by the memory of last year's .22 second loss to South Carolina's Outille Lekote, seized first place yet again with just five meters remaining. As the two approached the finish line, Johnson leaned across the finish line, but to no avail. Sam Burley had won.
After a third place finish sophomore year and a second place finish last year, Burley, in his last season at Penn, was finally crowned the national champion in the 800m.
"When I won, I was more relieved than happy," the new national champion said. "It was my last chance to achieve my college goal. I finally did it. It was a nice way to end my college career."
With the victory, Burley joined Early Eby as the second Ivy League and Penn male to win the two lap race at the NCAA's. Eby did it in 1921 in 1:57.4.
For the other Penn athlete competing last weekend, the competition was not nearly as stiff. The ever consistent Brian Chaput, true to his usual form, heaved the javelin 248'6" in the preliminary round on Wednesday, besting his personal and the Penn and Ivy League Records by more than six feet.
That was only the beginning.
In the championship round, Chaput launched the javelin an astounding 258'2" -- his personal best by nearly ten feet. The throw set a new Penn and Ivy League record.
Chaput's throw defeated second place finisher Rob Minnitti of Boise State by an impressive 12'.
With his Friday victory, Chaput became the first Penn athlete ever to win a national championship in the javelin and just the sixth Penn track athlete to win a national Championship. Burley's victory Saturday made him the seventh.
Penn had not won a gold medal since Bruce Collins took first place in the 400 yard hurdles in 1974, and it never before had two athletes earn first-place finishes in the same year. As a team, the Quakers tied for eleventh.
So where does one go after winning the biggest prize of them all?
To celebrate? No way. Burley and Chaput will not have much of a break.
The United States Track and Field Championships, where Sam Burley will kick off his professional career and Brian Chaput will finish his junior season, begin today. And the competition will not get any easier for either athlete.
With the likes of Brown graduate Trinity Gray competing in the 800m, Burley knows that he will be facing some of the world's most formidable middle-distance runners. But with a national championship finally on his resume, the Wyoming-native has alleviated much of the pressure.
"I think my chances are decent," he said. "There was a lot more pressure last week than there is this week."
Burley just signed with an agent and should know soon if he will receive a shoe contract.
The javelin this weekend will have some added Penn flavor as Brian Chaput squares off against his mentor -- Penn javelin coach and former Penn javelin record holder John Taylor.
Chaput's only loss of the season came in the Raleigh Relays earlier this season, where Taylor bested his apprentice in the open event.
Also competing will be Penn assistant coach and former Penn St. standout Jaime Cook in the decathlon. Cook will continue to pursue his dream of making the Olympic squad.
Last weekend's monumental performances surely mollified much of the pain the team suffered after its disheartening third-place finish at the Heptagonal Championships in early May. Regardless of how this weekend unfolds, one fact cannot be denied: it has been a truly historic year for the Penn track and field program.
