Track teams finish year with individul triumphs

For the men's team, the IC4A Championship brought two personal bests. Although the women were not as successful, Angie Jimenez earned fourth place. After spectacular performances at the Heptagonal Championships in April, the men's and women's track teams fizzled somewhat at the end of the season. Not everyone was sputtering however as two seniors gave quality showings in the final collegiate meet of their career. Greg Davis, despite a strained hamstring, blazed to a personal record 10.49 second 100-meter dash at the IC4A Championship in late May. The two days of IC4As were dramatically affected by the weather. On the first day of major competition, the conditions were hot and humid. The second day the humidity overflowed as rain soaked the track throughout the event. Davis thought he could have advanced to the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis were it not for the hamstring pull. His time was just nine-hundredths of a second off of the required qualifying time. "I don't think I finished quite as strong as I would have if my leg wasn't bothering me. It's a little disappointing, but I'm happy with the PR yesterday," Davis said on the last day of IC4As. "The PR's definitely going to be one of my best memories about Penn." Davis also anchored the Quakers to a strong fourth-place finish in 41.00 seconds, a season's best. The time was achieved despite the loss of Henry Addo, who was replaced capably by sophomore triple jumper Dan Nord. The other solid performance for Penn at the IC4As was by Eric Hyde, who scored a personal best 7,039 points to finish fourth in the decathlon. It was also the fourth best decathlon in school history. For the women, senior Angie Jimenez scored the lone points for the Quakers at IC4As. Her score was subpar for herself, but was good enough to earn fourth place. Her attitude after the meet reflected on the performance in terms of her career. "The year was kind of a disappointment to me, but I've gotten so much out of track," Jimenez said. The most outstanding track performance, however, would have to go to Penn sophomore Robin Martin. Martin became the first Penn track and field athlete since javelin thrower John Taylor to be named an All-American. Martin raced to this honor in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Championships. Coming off of a disappointing disqualification at the IC4As, the award was particularly sweet. Martin, who already holds the school record -- 1:47.81 -- for the 800, was timed in 1:49.32 at NCAAs. Martin attributed the slower time to mental mistakes he made during the race, and was already looking forward to next year for a chance to reapply himself. Penn's track coach, Charlie Powell, put this year's accomplishment in perspective. "Consider that there are almost 300 Division I schools, every one's got at least two or three half-milers...He finished fourteenth in the country. He had a great year," he said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.