The results are in after the first five days of the 2004 Olympic Trials in Sacremento, Calif.
And while three of the four Penn competitors will attempt to secure a spot in this year's Summer Games today and tomorrow, one has already put forth a strong showing.
Sam Burley, who graduated from Penn in 2003, finished in seventh place overall in the 800-meter run finals Monday.
The event, which took place at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex on the campus of Cal-State Sacramento, featured the top eight qualifiers from the 800m heats that were held over the weekend.
Of those eight, Burley had the fastest qualifying time heading into the final run.
After barely making it out of the quarterfinals with a fourth-place finish in the second heat, Burley, running for Asics, put together one of the best performances of his career.
The Quakers' former standout blew away the competition in Heat 2 of the 800m semifinals on Saturday.
Burley's finishing time of 1:46.79 was a full half-second ahead of Jonathan Johnson of Texas Tech.
None of the other runners in the first heat did better than Johnson or Burley.
But in the finals, it was Johnson who came through with an even more explosive performance.
The 2004 National Champion in the 800m won the event with a personal best 1:44.77, automatically qualifying for the Olympic Games.
Burley crossed the finish line with a time of 1:46.84, close to his original time in the semis but nowhere near the winner.
Khadevis Robinson, the 1999 USATF indoor and outdoor 800m champion, finished in second place and also qualified for the Olympics. The Nike-sponsored runner won the first semifinal heat with a time of 1:47.49, then shortened his time two-and-a-half seconds in the final.
Adidas-sponsored runner Derrick Peterson took the third qualifying spot, finishing the 800-meter final in 1:45.08.
Although Burley fell short of his ultimate goal, his strong showing in the semifinals of the 800m placed him among the nation's top runners in his event.
With Burley's final results in, the Quakers will have their eyes on their All-American javelin thrower Brian Chaput.
Chaput, along with his coach and 1995 Penn graduate John Taylor, will compete in the qualifying round of the javelin today at 2 p.m.
Chaput earned a 2003 national championship and victories in the 2004 Heptagonals, Penn Relays and NCAA East Regionals.
The top 12 finishers in the qualifying round will advance to the finals on Saturday, in which the top three will earn a spot on the 2004 Olympic team.
The final Penn competitor at the Olympic Trials will be men's track and field assistant coach Jaime Cook. Cook will compete in the decathlon starting Friday at 2 p.m.
