After running in the shadows of juniors Steve Hayes and Nolan Tully all season, junior Matt Van Antwerp led the way for the Penn men's cross-country team, finishing 18th overall in 25:30.7 at Friday's Heptagonal Championships.
Last year at the same race, Van Antwerp finished 80th.
"It was definitely a breakthrough race for me," said Van Antwerp, who usually finishes in the Quakers' top five. However, Van Antwerp had yet to finish ahead of Hayes and Tully -- who finished second and third for Penn -- this season.
Overall, Penn finished in seventh place earning 154 points on the day. Brown finished with 60 points, good enough to earn the Bears their first-ever Heptagonal cross-country title. The race serves as the Ivy League Championships.
Cross-country meets are scored by the place of each runner finishing the race, so a low tally is the goal.
Hayes finished in 25:38.0 and Nolan Tully ran a 25:55.4, good for 23rd and 32nd overall. Sophomore Breton Bonnette and freshman John Brackmann finished fourth and fifth for Penn.
While some individuals performed well, the same cannot be said for the team, whose expectations were not met.
"Going in, we knew we could realistically place from second to seventh," Van Antwerp said. "But unfortunately a lot of things went badly for us."
The Quakers are hoping a few of the breaks go their way at their next race, the NCAA Regionals on Nov. 15. They are not sure what to expect from the competition, but will continue their usual routines in practice.
During mid-October, the runners did the bulk of their legwork in practice, but have recently begun tapering -- reducing their mileage each practice.
With their workload reduced, the Quakers are expected to have fresher legs for the NCAAs -- their last meet of the season.
Perhaps then they could all catch Hayes and Tully.
