Cross Country Issue | Opener brings strange endings for Quakers

Penn’s cross country opener featured some strong times and some shocking timing.

In their first competitive action of the season, the Quakers went up against Saint Joseph’s, La Salle, Villanova and Temple in the Big 5 Invitational, held at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

The women’s team emerged victorious in the 4K, winning by a fairly wide margin. The Red and Blue posted an average time of 14:19 and a score of 23, a “cross country mile” ahead of second-place Villanova, who finished in 14:38 with 60 points.

Penn had the second, third, fourth and fifth finishers at the meet. But while it was clear that the Quakers’ women were the best team on the course, it was nearly impossible to discern which Red and Blue-clad runners finished in which spot — and not just because two of them are identical twins.

Junior Ashley Montgomery crossed the line at 14:15.3 to earn second place a mere tenth of a second before her classmate Cleo Whiting finished the race. Cleo’s twin, Clarissa, arrived two-tenths of a second later, just an eyelash ahead of sophomore Abby Hong, who clocked in at 14:15.7. In four-tenths of a second, the Quakers had claimed four of the top five finishes in the race.

Senior Amy Darlington also posted a time of 14:32.2 to finish ninth and put five Penn runners in the top ten.

The men’s team put up a score of 44 in the 6K, locking up second place behind Saint Joseph’s (37). The Quakers’ average time of 19:18 was two seconds slower than that of the Hawks, although the Red and Blue rested several key runners, including star senior Thomas Awad.

Sophomore Patrick Hally finished eighth with a time of 19:14.9, just before seniors Clark Shurtleff and Keaton Naff crossed the finish line simultaneously at 19:15.1. Junior Christopher Halter then clocked in at 19:18.1 for an 11th-place finish.

Between the men’s and women’s teams, Penn had four strings of four consecutive runners and three pairs of runners finish with the exact same time as a teammate.

The Quakers are no strangers to success at the Big 5 Invitational. In 2014, both the men and women captured first place at the event.

However, for coach Steve Dolan’s runners, success — or lack thereof — will be measured at season’s end by their performance at Heps. The men will be looking to build on last year’s third-place finish, while the women will look to rebound and make a statement after 2014 saw them finish eighth in the Ancient Eight.

The long road to Heps will resume on Friday, when the Red and Blue make the short trip to Haverford to compete in the Mainline Invitational.

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