"Tradition breeds success."
The older generation exudes it, the younger generation echoes it. This is perhaps how all things are done at Penn, a school rife with tradition - toast, ivy, and all.
There may be no tradition in which Penn has been more nationally-recognized than the men's 800-meter race.
Men's head coach Charlie Powell, a Penn legend and human track encyclopedia, reels off 800m champions like he's calling the roll.
"Ted Meredith. Earl Eby. Gene Venzke. Robert Mullen. Paul Raudenbush," Powell says, matching each name with an NCAA Championship, an Olympic medal or a Heptagonals title. Some of the athletes attended Penn as early as 1912.
"It goes back to 1921 when Earl Eby won the NCAA Championship," Powell said. "And then it just goes on and on from there. my gosh.
"There are a couple of events that Penn is just dominant in. The 800m is one of them."
Under Powell, who first came to Penn as coach 19 years ago, the school has produced 145 Heptagonal championships and two NCAA champions - Sam Burley being the most recent, winning the 800m at nationals.
And what does coach Powell have to say about the 800m at Penn?
"Tradition breeds success."
Ted Meredith gave Penn its first taste of that tradition in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, taking home the gold medal in the individual 800m. Since then, the school has seen a slew of running greats make their mark upon Penn track, giving them the most Heptagonal and IC4A victories of any other Ivy.
Eby, who won the 800m in the very first NCAA Outdoor Championships in 1921, also won the silver medal in the same event in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.
According to Powell, the middle distance event is the closest you get to unconquerable.
"You cannot make a mistake in the 800m," he said. "You gotta have the knowledge of yourself and knowledge of your pace, what you can and what you can't do. You have to have fantastic speed and aerobic strength."
Powell, whose specialty is the 800m, has certainly begun to conquer the supposedly unconquerable, giving Penn a new era of 800m champions. Sam Burley, who graduated in 2003, Courtney Jaworski, a 2006 grad, and current rising senior Tim Kaijala have all continued the tradition of success.
Powell certainly thinks that Kaijala has the proverbial 800m "warrior" in him.
"He's just mentally tough, and that's one of the keys," Powell commented. "It's a very demanding event, and he's one of those guys [who's] able to get it done. He's extremely strong, he's fast. He's the whole package."
Kaijala, who won his first Heptagonals 800m title this past May in Princeton, appreciates the mental and physical toughness as much as his coach does.
"The beauty of the 800m is that it's so hard," he commented. "It's an all out sport and a distance race. You have to be in control, but you have to be crazy, too."
As for the runners that made Penn such a track and field powerhouse in the early 20th century, Kaijala feels their presence.
"There's so much tradition in the jersey itself. One of the big reasons I love running for Penn in the 800m is the tradition the school has in [it]. And being able to train with Burley . having someone really good in front of you makes it easier for you to be successful."
It's time for Penn to meet the new success.
