On a day when the men's track team finished a middle-of-the-pack sixth out of 10 teams at the Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup in State College, Pa., sophomore Grafton Ifill stole the show with his second record-breaking performance in as many meets.
He broke his own mark in the 200-meter, a record which he set two weeks ago at the same venue. Ifill clocked in at 21.24 seconds, and missed qualifying for NCAA nationals by one 100th of a second.
"Grafton's performance is something the entire city should take notice of," assistant coach Jamie Cook said. "He's a good guy, and trains hard."
It was also a record-setting day for the women's track team as they competed in the Rider-Lafayette Invitational in New York.
Senior Izu Emeagwali led the way for the women's track team, qualifying for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships with victories in both the 55m and 200m dash. Emeagwali tied the school record in the 55m with a time of 7.21 seconds, and dashed to the second fastest time in the Penn record books in the 200m with a time of 25.07.
Freshman standout Jesse Carlin broke her first school record of her collegiate career in the 500m, a record set by her teammate Dana McCurdy two weeks prior at the Terrier Classic. Carlin cruised to a first place and ECAC qualifying finish with a time of 1:13.68
McCurdy continued to race at a top level -- placing second in the 400m with a time of 57.7 seconds.
The women broke yet another school record in the 4x400m relay sporting a time of 3:48.84. The previous mark of 3:48.88 had stood since 1997.
But the big story of the day was Ifill's performance for the men's team.
He showed his competitive and racing abilities by defeating one of the best sprinters in the country, Central Michigan's Johnie Drake. Drake is the fastest man in the country in the 60m dash, but he simply could not hang with Ifill in the extra 140 meters.
But the strong racing didn't stop there.
Senior Courtney Jaworski placed second in the 800m with a personal best time of 1:49.78, the third fastest in Penn history. The 4x400m relay of Eric Ljungquist, Ifill, Carson Schmiett and Jaworski ran a 3:16.40 to place fourth.
In the field events, rookie Kyle Calvo placed fourth in the polevault with a mark of 6 feet, 7 inches while fellow freshman Pete Habegger took fourth in the long jump with a distance of 22 feet, 10 inches.
The Red and Blue got a good look at one of Cornell, one of its opponents at the Heptagonal Championships this weekend. The Big Red finished two spots ahead of Penn in fourth.
"We gotta go out and beat them, but we know we can be competitive," said sophomore distance runner Michael Cassidy.
"For the point we're at in training, we're gonna be where we want to be in two weeks," Cook said.
On the women's side, Jeanette Curtis won the 55m hurdles with a time of 8.38 seconds. In the 800m, Christina Morrison finished second by clocking a 2:11.86.
The contributions of veteran and rookie runners has been a key factor in the women's team's performances this year. The entire squad seems to have a strong comradery and girls who have experienced individual success have regularly credited their teammates.
"It's made our practices excellent," coach Gwen Harris said.
The Quakers have been practicing intensely all season, but now it is time to fine tune their workouts and rest up for the Heptagonal Championships.
"We'll do it again outdoors, we're gonna be ready to roll," Harris said.
