Poor showing at Heps for Track

For the graduating seniors, last weekend's Outdoor Heptagonal Championships was an event to remember. For the rest of the Quakers, it was a track meet they'd rather forget.

Stacy Kim was named Co-Athlete of the Meet and Jesse Carlin won the 800-meter title; on the men's side, Tim Kaijala won his second-straight 800m and Mike Hall finished just five points back of first in the decathlon.

Yet the underclassmen did not pull their weight, and both teams had weak showings. The women finished sixth in this Ivy League tournament, while the men finished fifth. Cornell dominated both events.

"What I say to the public is a little different than what I say to my team," men's coach Charlie Powell said when asked to evaluate the weekend.

He added: "We qualified better than any other team except the eventual winner . The problem was that unfortunately we didn't get enough large points, enough firsts, seconds, and thirds."

Kaijala, though, did come in first. This was the fifth-straight year, and 10th of the last 13, that a Penn runner claimed victory in the 800m. Powell didn't offer much of an explanation for the Red and Blue's dominance.

"We're just good at it, that's all. It's as simple as that," he said "Believe me it's not a fluke."

It was Kaijala's ninth Heps title, according to Powell: three in the indoor 1000m and four in the 4x100m relay, plus the two in the 800.

Hall, meanwhile, posted a career-high 6,874 points in the decathlon, only to watch Dartmouth's Tim Wunderlich notch 6,879. Hall's teammate Kyle Calvo finished third with 6,802.

"You train to do well on your final, right?" Powell asked. "Going to Heps is like going to finals. It's just, a poor guy like Mike and Kyle - not only do they have the regular finals but they have 10 other finals."

The Quakers were without sprinters Willie Harris (hamstring), and Sam Shepherd, who was suffering from a collapsed lung. He has since been released from the hospital after spending a few days there, and is "doing a lot better," according to Powell.

It was nearly the opposite story on the women's side, with ultimately the same result. Gwen Harris' squad had several top finishers but lacked strength lower down its lineup.

"We don't have enough people in certain events," she said. "Other schools are able to do things that we're not able to do - but we'll be fine."

Kim won both the 1500m (with a Heps- and school-record time) and 3000m races, the first time same woman won both Heps events since 1996.

Yet she had to share the glory with Cornell's multi-sport star Jeomi Maduka, the other Co-Athlete of the Meet.

Maduka, the points and assists leader on the Big Red's basketball team, won the long-jump, triple-jump and 200m, while also running on two relay teams.

Penn will lose Kim (and her twin sister, Claire), Carlin and Shaunee Morgan - nearly all of its top runners - to graduation next week.

"It's a rebuilding year, obviously," Harris said about 2008-2009. "It's not rocket science."

First, though, both Quakers teams will run in their respective Eastern championships, followed by NCAA regionals.

Several runners have already qualified for NCAA regionals, while others will try to win their bids this weekend. Either way, the late May trip to Tallahassee, Fla., won't be easy.

"There are a ton of schools at regionals - I mean, holy cow," Harris said. "And everybody's good . it's the real deal."

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