Two members of the Penn men's track team returned as All-Americans from the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships held last week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Senior Tuan Wreh captured his first All-American finish in the triple jump, and junior Sam Burley attained the lofty status for the third time with his outstanding performance in the 800m.
Burley beat his personal best (and the Penn record) by more than a second.
Wreh has won at least six events at the Heptagonal championships during his career at Penn, and has brought his collegiate career to a dramatic finish with his sixth-place All-American performance in the triple jump.
This season alone, Wreh took second in the triple jump at IC4A, after bringing home both the triple and long jumps at Heps, breaking a Heps record in the triple that had stood for 25 years.
Burley easily qualified in the 800m preliminaries in Baton Rouge, placing fourth and saving up his strength to finish second behind Otukile Lekote (the returning champion) in the final.
Burley edged up from seventh place in last year's contest. Almost two whole seconds separated Burley and Lekote last year, but Burley narrowed the gap to slightly over two tenths of a second.
Burley, a Penn environmental science major has made All-American each of his past three seasons -- outdoor last year, and indoor and outdoor this year. He also placed second at the prestigious George Mason Invitational this spring. Burley's finish in that race was the second fastest time in Penn's history.
Burley came in second in the 800m at Heps this year, behind Princeton's Ryan Smith. However, Smith did not qualify in the preliminaries at NCAAs, so the two will wait until next season to meet again on the track.
The Penn-Princeton rivalry is strong and heated, with Princeton
claiming Indoor Heps for the past two years. However, the Quakers' have come out on top at Outdoor Heps both years, with Princeton following close behind.
Sophomore Brian Chaput represented the Red and Blue in the javelin contest at the NCAAs and wound up finishing 16th.
In spite of an elbow injury last year, Chaput took the Outdoor Heps and IC4A Championships this season, so next year's team will benefit not only from his talent and
perseverance, but also from his experience at the top levels of collegiate competition.
Chaput has achieved much success as an athlete here at Penn, and his next two years are likely to bring more of the same.
Chaput's academic performance has also won him attention and merited him for an All-Ivy Academic award last month.
After winning back-to-back Outdoor Heptagonal Championships, and placing second yet again at Indoor Heps, the Penn men's team placed 23rd overall in the NCAA competition with a total of 11 points.
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