Penn coach Gwen Harris was cheering Shaunee Morgan right to the finish line in the 400-meter run. But with about 10 meters to go, Harris came to her senses.
Harris's frantic "Come on!"s and "All right!"s gave way to a calmer "Relax, relax, relax."
Relax, Shaunee Morgan. No one's going to catch you.
Morgan, a senior, won the 400m in style with a time of 53.97 seconds.
"Shaunee hasn't run that fast, ever," Harris said. "She did a wonderful job."
It was only the second time since her freshman year that Morgan had run the outdoor open 400m. The first time was just last weekend, but she had been secretly working on building her strength and becoming comfortable with the race.
"I was nervous then [last weekend], just for the sheer fact that I hadn't done it 'open' in so long," she said. "But now that the nerves are gone, it's just a matter of, 'Now let's improve,' because I know I can do this."
Morgan wasn't the only Penn athlete with a standout performance. Running with several of her teammates in the 1500m race, senior Stacy Kim crossed the line first with a time of 4:27.88.
"It's the final two laps that are going to be tough," Kim said of her race strategy. "We really try to stay focused on the third lap, try not to fall asleep . People always pull through on the last lap."
The Quakers men also tore up the track Saturday, winning four separate events. Senior Tim Kaijala won the 1500m with a time of 3:51.80. He got off to a rough start and the pack actually forced him off the track for a step. But he rejoined the group without missing a beat, allowing the runners in front of him to fight the wind until he made his move against Navy and Cornell competitors with about 600m to go.
"He's just stronger than they are," head men's coach Charlie Powell said. "He's one of the best mid-distance runners in the East."
A face-off between longtime rivals Kaijala and Columbia's Liam Boylan-Pett did not happen until the third leg of the 4x400m relay, the last event of the day.
"I just wanted to get Liam, who's a friend of mine and kind of a rival, so I tried to chase him down, that was the goal in mind," Kaijala said.
Kaijala's efforts brought the Quakers into third position at one point. But they eventually fell down to sixth. The Cornell 'A' team finished first, while the Columbia 'A' team finished second.
"I almost got [Boylan-Pett] . He had a bit of a head start," Kaijala said.
Other top finishers included senior Andrew Anderson, who won the 400m in 48.10, and junior Kevin Benjamin, who placed first the in 200m dash, breaking the tape at 21.81.
Red and Blue distance runners dominated the 5000m, earning five of the top six positions. Freshman Anguel Tolev led the way with a first place finish completed in 14:40.66.
Sophomore Willie Harris finished second in both the 110m high hurdles and the 400m hurdles. After briefly losing his form on the sixth hurdle of the 400m event, Harris landed incorrectly on his trail leg, injuring the sole of his foot and leaving him on crutches at the end of the day. Despite the injury, Harris still managed to set a personal record, finishing with a time of 53.60.
Recovering quickly for the next track meet is always a top priority. But Harris has another event on his mind for which he must be ready: Spring Fling.
"Hopefully, I should be back, at the latest, by Wednesday. I'm supposed to be dancing in a group called 'Hype,'" he said.
If Harris is as good on the dance floor as he is on the track, it's bound to be a good show.
