Brian Fulton's role on the Penn men's track team is to run races that span 800 meters. Fortunately for the freshman and his teammates, they won't have to travel much farther than that to get to this weekend's spring Heptagonals.
The Quakers will participate in the spring Heptagonals - the equivalent of Ivy League Championships - Saturday and Sunday at Franklin Field.
The Red and Blue hope to improve on their sixth-place finish at indoor Heptagonals in Boston Feb. 28-March 1. They will certainly feel right at home on 33rd Street with the home crowd on their side.
"We run on this track every day," Fulton said, "so we know where the wind is [and] we've got [the races] down to a science."
Fulton believes that the Quakers are a changed team since the indoor installment of the event, and not just because they are healthier.
"I think we're all starting to really come together as a team . the jumpers, sprinters, mid-distance and distance runners," Fulton said. "We've been really working hard in practice and we're becoming more cohesive."
Penn has won the indoor Heptagonals just eight times in its history but has won the outdoor event 15 times - more than any other Ivy League school. The runners will have the benefit of a longer, wider track with the event moving outdoors, as Fulton - who will participate in the 800-meter and 4x800 races - explained.
"It's definitely faster [outdoors]," the West Chester, Pa., native said. "The track is longer and there's not quite as many turns. It gives you a little bit more room to run."
Fulton and several other Quakers have already qualified for the IC4A Championships - which take place at Princeton May 15-17 - by making the cut on the required times in their respective events. They will have the opportunity to qualify for further postseason events - the NCAA Regional May 29-30 and the NCAA Championship June 10-13 -- this weekend.
If the Penn Relays were any indication, the Quakers are in good shape. Penn finished above the three other Ivies competing in the 4x100, took second among six Ivies in the 4x400 Heptagonal and won the pole vault, among the many events they participated in during the storied event.
Speaking for the runners, Fulton is ready to build on the Quakers' performance at the Penn Relays.
"We're going into Heps looking to improve upon that and going for a little bit of revenge on the other schools that beat us [indoors]," he said. "I think there's still a little bit of fire in us so I think we're ready to run a little faster."
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