From Penn teammates...to roommates

Hundreds of teams travel thousands of miles to reach the Penn Relays. But few will have covered as much land as the Quakers' junior tandem of Brian Abram and Sam Burley.

Abram hails from Prairie Village, Kan., Burley from Cheyenne, Wyo.

Burley was a dominant indoor-outdoor high school runner, leading Central Cheyenne High to state titles his freshman and junior years while competing in the 400 meters, 800, 4x400 and 4x800.

"I think I won states 14 times," he said. "I did I think 14, 12, 14 or 16 times."

While Abram was not quite as accomplished as his teammate -- only running in the outdoor season -- his resume still boasts a 4x400 championship team his junior year.

That has not, however, prevented him individually from blossoming into one of the most potent -- and versatile -- forces on the Quakers' track team.

Just three weeks ago at the Penn Invitational, Abram took a break from the 400 to capture first place in the 100 and second in the 200.

Both Westerners have surely made the transition to the East Coast on the track. But the pair has an interesting rapport -- a dynamic that extends past the competitive world and into the social side.

Abram and Burley, aside from being two of Penn's most dominant racers, have also been roommates the last two, and soon to be three, years.

"Actually, we were supposed to be roommates freshman year," Burley said. "We have the same basic mentality -- Midwest and such."

"We're both pretty laid back," Abram added. "We both just like doing nothing, watching TV or something -- or we just don't like going out so much.

"I don't want to keep falling back on Midwestern values, but that definitely helps in terms of how we're not necessarily the same person, but definitely have some of the same background."

That same blue collar value system which rewards an honest day at work -- or on the track -- has translated into success for the runners.

Burley won the 1500 and Abram took the 800 -- both foreign events to them -- in the first meet of the outdoor season, the Quaker Invitational.

At the Raleigh Relays, Burley claimed third in the 400 while his roommate placed 26th out of an enormous 126-man field in the 400.

Then, at the Princeton-Villanova-Penn State-Penn quad meet, Abram won the 400, and Burley finished third in the 800.

Despite thriving in what seems to be a season of great success, Burley still remains guarded about his outdoor season thus far.

"I'm not doing well," he said. "My last three meets have not gone very well, but I think that's just that I went through a hard cycle of training.

"Hopefully, I think in the next couple weeks -- especially at [Penn] Relays -- I expect to do a lot better than I've done up to this point."

The 50,000 fans who will be sitting in he Franklin Field bleachers Friday and Saturday will probably concur. As long as Burley saves his speed-show for them, any season-long shortcomings will be washed off the slate.

From roommates to teammates, Burley and Abram will be members of the same relay squad twice this weekend -- once in the 4x400 and the sprint medley, which entails two 200m legs, a 400m for Abram and an 800m for Burley.

"I really think we have a good shot at doing well in [the sprint medley relay]," Abram said. "I think we can get into the top five or so."

According to both Burley and Abram, however, the Heptagonal 4x400 -- which features only the Ivy League and Navy -- is the highlight of the Penn Relays.

"It's one of the neatest things to see there," Abram said. "Every person in the stands -- unless you're a fan of another Ivy League school -- everyone roots for Penn.

"You'll hear the announcer name off the teams. He'll say, 'In this meet there's Yale, and Harvard, and Princeton -- and your Pennsylvania Quakers!' And the whole crowd just gets real rowdy."

Rowdy is really the only way to describe the crowd at Franklin Field on Relays weekend. For a Penn team that is used to sparse attendance -- as shown by the limited fan support at its two home meets this season -- the packed stands will serve as a welcome aberration.

Thousands of avid track fanatics have a way of making things exciting.

"It's really the only time you feel like a real runner, outside of Nationals," Burley said. "It's the only time we have a fan base at all.

"The people in the crowd -- they like track. They know if someone runs their best that you'll hear the crowd go, 'Ahhh' after they announce the split."

Burley and Abram are now just a day away from leaving their room and entering a packed Franklin Field.

They are ensured of competing Friday, but must qualify for Saturday.

But the pressure of reaching the second day of competition doesn't seem to peril the Quakers' dynamic duo.

"We'll race Saturday," Burley said, "unless we drop the baton."

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