Striding past tragedy

While the Penn men's cross-country team got off to a strong start at Saturday's Fordham Invitational in New York, finishing second overall, it was the circumstances with which the Quakers had to deal in the week leading up to the season's first race that showed the perseverance of the Penn runners.

Less than 10 days ago, there was a fire in the home where several members of the men's cross-country team lived.

While none of the athletes were seriously injured, a few runners received medical attention and all the occupants of the house on 3939 Chestnut Street were forced out of their residence.

Those rendered homeless temporarily moved into the Sheraton University City on Chestnut Street, and many remained unsure how many of their possessions were damaged from the incident.

With all the distractions as a result of the fire, there was some concern heading into this weekend's race that the Quakers would not be in the right place mentally.

Senior Joseph Fabiani paid tribute to the coaching staff for their leadership and guidance through an unusually difficult period.

"Coach Powell was great for the guys who lost their house," Fabiani said. "He was like a father figure. He helped us through a tough time and really kept our team together."

With Powell as a figurehead, Penn entered Saturday's meet concentrating on the task ahead, regardless of what was going on at home.

"Everyone put the fire behind them," junior Nolan Tully said. "We just wanted to get focused on the season."

The second-place finish was highlighted by a series of strong individual performances. Penn's leader, Tully, paced the Quakers with a fifth-place finish and a time of 25:45. Fabiani followed closely behind, finishing in seventh place with a time of 25:57.

The Red and Blue rounded out the top 10 with strong performances by freshman Troy Werner (26:06) and junior Matt Van Antwerp (26:15), who finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

"I was really happy about [our performance]," Tully said. "We wanted to run as a group. We have a lot of freshmen on the team and we just wanted to get a race under their belt so everything went well."

Only Philadelphia-rival Saint Joseph's finished above the Quakers in what was considered a good overall trip for Penn.

"Taking all things into account, we were really focused," Fabiani said. "I give a lot of credit to these guys for dealing with the fire and turning around Saturday and being able to perform."

Saturday's trip to the Bronx was exactly what the Quakers were hoping for in starting their 2003 campaign and they hope to keep up the momentum through next weekend's Delaware Invitational. With strong leaders at the top of the lineup and a coach that has the respect of his team, the Red and Blue look strong heading into the upcoming season.

"It was a good start to the season," Fabiani said. "It felt really good to run a decent race."

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