Men's cross-country to unveil new strategy at Belmont

After finishing fifth last Saturday at the Paul Short Run, Penn men's cross country coach Charlie Powell has decided to shake things up a bit in order to get better results at this Saturday's Philly Classic at Belmont Plateau.

"We've got a surprise. We've got something this week that is going to surprise some people in the district," Powell said.

"We are going to try out a new strategy this week," said Powell. "Just like a football team might pick one offense over another -- a West Coast offense over a traditional offense -- we are going to try a different strategy."

This new strategy might be the final piece that moves the Quakers, currently ranked No. 8 in the Mid-Atlantic Division, higher in the polls.

Sophomores Stephen Hayes and Erik Malmstrom should finally be healthy for Saturday's run. Hayes was forced to sit out the Paul Short Run and Malmstrom's performance was deeply hampered, both due to illness.

"We are looking for Steve Hayes and Malmstrom to bounce back from last week," said Powell. "I hope they've gotten over the flu and are ready to run well."

Although Hayes and Malmstrom are scheduled to return this weekend, the Quakers will be missing sophomore Dusty Lieb from their lineup as he is scheduled for his week off.

Lieb, perhaps Penn's best distance runner, won the team's first meet, Fordham's Ram Invitational, and finished 15th last weekend. He was sixth overall at this event last year.

Other harriers expected to step up in Lieb's absence are sophomores Nolan Tully and Dan Treglia who finished 10th and 14th at last year's event, respectively.

Treglia feels that his experience last year will help him this Saturday.

"It's a hilly race," he said. "It's a race where your mind can't go to sleep. You have to be more mentally disciplined."

Penn will face some stiff competition at the meet. Division rivals No. 1 Villanova, No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 La Salle are predicted to compete for the title, as well as Ivy League rival Cornell. Division III's top-ranked program, Haverford, is also expected to perform well.

At last year's event, La Salle finished first, Penn second and Villanova third.

Though the Quakers view this meet as important, they seem to be looking towards the upcoming pre-national and regional meets.

"We are looking past this one," admitted Treglia. "We are looking more into the long term."

Powell hopes that his new strategy will give his team momentum going into these more important meets.

"If it works, we are going to use this at pre-nationals and if it works there, we might be using it at Heps [Heptagonal Championships]."

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