The Ivy League's track and field season came to a close on Sunday, and the women of Penn finished with their best performance in 11 years. The men, meanwhile, were the best of the rest after taking third behind the conference's two powerhouses, Princeton and Cornell.
After day one on Saturday, the women stood in first place. And while they ultimately fell to second, 39 points behind champions Harvard, the team's individual performances suggest that a number of athletes could compete well beyond the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships and into late May or early June.
Somehow, not a single woman won an individual championship — yet five took silver, and another six took bronze.
Freshman Maura Kimmel accounted for one of each, finishing second in the shot put with Penn's second-best ever throw and taking third in the discus with a school record of 49.70-meters.
The women may have finished 22 points ahead of third-place Princeton, but things would have ended up much closer without the help of their pole vault unit, which registered 15 points from three separate Quakers. Junior Molly Minnig led the way with a school record leap of 4.07m to take second.
On the men's side, it was the power of threes that marked their performance — three Quakers won Ivy League championships to take them to their third consecutive third-place finish. And while no one in any event came in second, a quartet of third-place event finishes shored up their points total to secure a one-point victory over Harvard, 86 to the Crimson's 85.
Each of the championships represented a notable feat for the Red and Blue. For senior Nick Tuck, it was his third consecutive 3,000m steeplechase Ivy League championship — just the second time ever such a feat was accomplished.
For senior Noah Kennedy-White, it secured Penn's fifth straight Heps championship in the discus, following four straight from 2016 graduate Sam Mattis.
And for sophomore Calvary Rogers, it was a lockdown on his domination in the 200m dash. His outdoor championship on Sunday completed an indoor-outdoor double for 2017, tightening his grip at the top of the Ivy League.
The Quakers' season is far from over, as a slew of postseason meets awaits them still. The ECAC championships lie ahead next weekend, and the NCAA Prelims loom in the distance three weeks out. Heps may be behind them, but if all goes well, their season won't officially be over for another month.
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