M. Track predictinghuge year

Philadelphia's recent taste of summer has been a welcome break, especially for the Penn men's indoor track team, who, despite their name, practices outdoors all year long.

"It's pretty brutal sometimes," Penn sophomore Chris Edmonds said. "Occasionally, we practice in the Bubble, a warehouse building near the soccer field that is sort of like an indoor track, but mostly we're outside."

The team's Spartan work ethic has given rise to lofty goals and a very determined outlook.

"We've worked hard, and we expect to do well," Penn senior Gene Sun said.

Along with fellow senior Brian Abram and junior Tuan Wreh, Sun tri-captains the Quakers who took first in the Outdoor Heptagonal Championships last spring, and settled for second at the Indoor Heps.

"Anything less than winning both Indoor and Outdoor Heps would be a disappointment," Sun said. "We are looking to sweep, and I think we have a better chance than last year."

Edmonds, who starred last year as a freshman, has a different goal.

"We'd like not to lose a [4X400-meter] all year within the league," Edmonds added.

This season's lineup boasts a formidable class of returnees. Most of the top point contributors are back, which will be critical to the Quakers' success at the Heptagonal Championships in Feb., which match Penn with its Ivy League rivals and Navy.

Compared to the recently-ended cross country season, the Quaker freshmen will have considerably less pressure during the indoor and outdoor track seasons.

"It's a good test for the freshmen, but unlike cross country, we don't have to rely on them to score points," Edmonds said. "That's a lot of pressure to be under as a freshman, to have to worry about scoring points at Heps."

Penn's first meet takes place this weekend at Princeton.

"This meet is more of a warm-up to the season," Sun said. "It's no pressure, just trying to get the kinks out from not competing since last year, and to give the freshmen a taste of collegiate competition."

Pressure aside, the Red and Blue have already made significant progress during practice; every runner improved his time by at least two-to-four seconds in the 500-meter over the past two months.

"The Princeton meet is not going to make or break our season," Edmonds said. "It's just a good early test to see how far we've come, and it's really the most important for the freshmen, who are very eager to prove themselves."

Although the Quakers have practiced since arriving at Penn in September, their coaches have warned them not to let competition distract them from their training.

"We just train hard," Sun said. "But the most important thing is not to let up and not to let the meets change your workouts. In fact, they should strengthen your work ethic."

The first major competition for the Quakers takes place in mid-January at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, beginning a Quakers season that will take them on a whirlwind tour of the Eastern seaboard.

Since Penn does not have an indoor track, there will be no home meets during the indoor trackseason.

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