When Clemson transfer Grafton Ifill III decided to come to Philadelphia, Penn had landed one of the country's premier young sprinters.
Penn is no track powerhouse, but Ifill is a big-time prospect. The sophomore, who runs the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 4x100m relay, is already working his way into the national rankings. In just his first year at Penn, Ifill has the nation's 26th fastest 100m time at 10.42 seconds, and the ninth best in the Eastern Region.
Ifill traveled an interesting road to get to Penn. Born and raised in the Bahamas, Ifill was one of the best junior sprinters in the Caribbean. At the age of 15, he was running the 100m in 10.7 seconds, and the 200m in under 22 seconds. He was a top prospect even as a young teen and he was getting heavily recruited by colleges across the United States.
Ifill eventually settled on Clemson. He spent his freshman year there, but as a 16-year-old at the collegiate level, he struggled on the track, and was not comfortable at the South Carolina school.
"The program itself wasn't working out for me, and I realized it wasn't quite the perfect match," Ifill said. "I didn't run very well that year, and I had a few injuries ... that wasn't the place for me to be."
However, while Ifill had some troubles on the track, he excelled in the classroom. He finished high school at age 16, and as a freshman at Clemson he made the Dean's List honor roll both semesters.
"Academically [at Clemson] he was very sound," his father, Grafton Ifill, Jr., said. "We were always looking for the best academic opportunity for him, and that opportunity came last year."
After taking a year off, Ifill, still only 18, was looking for a solid track program at a school that could offer him more of an academic challenge. After getting offers from many other institutions, Ifill decided to enroll at Penn.
"Partly because of its rich athletic history in track and field, and also for its great academic record," the younger Ifill said about how he came to choose Penn. "My coach from high school [Alex Woodley], an American gold medalist, used to train at Franklin Field. I used to hear a lot of stories about Penn."
Ifill also appreciates the fact that Penn cares as much for academics as for sports.
"Clemson itself is an athletic school," he said. "Pretty much everything is centered around athletics. Penn is more centered toward academics and is more balanced."
Penn men's track coach Charlie Powell was elated to get the young sprinter into his program. But Powell did not have to do much to get Ifill to Penn.
"He wanted to come to the University of Pennsylvania; he contacted us," Powell said. "He could have gone to a lot of places -- the young man made the finals of the World Junior Championships. He was very highly sought after."
This year, the sophomore has made a smooth transition and is fitting in very well at his new school.
"Overall I like Penn a lot," Ifill said. "This is really a perfect match for me and I'm really loving it ... I get along very well with the coaches. They have embraced me and made me comfortable, and the guys on the team did the same."
Ifill is not the only one happy that he is at Penn. While it is certainly possible for Penn to get top recruits like Ifill, Powell knows that Penn only gets a sprinter this good every so often.
"About every 10 years have we had someone like him. ... He's one the best young sprinters in the country, if not the world," Powell said. "It's not that rare, but it's fun to have him."
This Friday, Ifill will be competing the Penn Relays for the first time, running the 100m and 4x100m relay.
Penn's 4x100m team has enormous potential, but has been plagued by injuries, and the runners on it have been shuffled all year. Finally they are nearing 100 percent, and may be good to go full-strength by next week.
"This weekend we sort of solidified the key people we think are going to be [on the team]," Ifill said. "I think our team really has the potential to be really good. ... If everyone is 100 percent on Friday and then we have a perfect race, we can continue to advance and probably run on Saturday in the finals."
Powell knows the team can be very good, but first the runners have to get down the basics.
"Last weekend we were running extremely well, but blew the last handoff," Powell said. But, he added, "If we can work well together and make smooth handoffs we can be one of the top teams in the East."
As for his individual 100m race, Ifill is refining his technique before the Relays. He knows he has a chance to show his skills to the world, but will not be nervous this weekend, he must run relaxed.
"Individually he'll run very well," Powell said. "He's improving every week, and he's right where we want him to be."
Ifill is certainly looking forward to the big stage the Penn Relays bring.
"Running in that atmosphere will be exciting," Ifill said. "Growing up, most of the big meets I would run would be in a similar atmosphere with packed stadiums and loud people, and that is something I always look forward to."
