2012 Penn Relays

118th PENN RELAYS

LINKS

Live Results | DyeStat Elites
John Nepolitan Photo Galleries: Saturday | Friday: Boys - Girls | Thursday
Doug Binder Stories:
---Saturday: Westfield makes all the right moves in 4x800
---Friday: Washington delivers for Poly in 4x100 relay
---Thursday: Record setters Tatnall, Cain share limelight
---"A well-oiled chainsaw"A different take from Hall of Fame starter Tom McTaggert

SATURDAY

--- Westfield (Chantilly, Va.) comes up huge in the boys 4x800, winning the Championship of America thanks to a brave move by Tyrone Walker with 300 to go and his refusal to give back the lead. Westfield ran US#1 7:39.73. Kingston College (Jamaica) was second in 7:40.52. Chariho (R.I.), the New Balance National Indoor 4xmile champion, rallied from ninth to fourth on Mike Marsella's anchor leg.
--- Munro College (Jamaica) got a 45.4 anchor leg on the way to a 3:11.91 victory in the boys 4x400 CoA. The top five teams were from Jamaica. Gardena Serra (Calif.) was sixth with 3:17.46.
--- Anaquan Peterson of Lakeland (Suffolk, Va.) won the boys triple jump with a leap of 50 feet even, beating favorite Imani Brown of Reading (Reading, Pa.), who was second with 48-11.75.
--- Domination for the Jamaicans in the 4x100 CoA, with Wolmer's running 40.34 for the victory. Jamaica College was second in 40.57, Morrison was third in 41.03 and Potomac (Oxon Hills, Md.) was the top US team, fourth in 41.47.
--- Gardena Serra (Calif.) takes the small school 4x100 with 41.82, knocking out more top Jamaican teams, St. Jago and Calabar.
--- In large school 4x100, Kingston College drops the stick on the final exchange and Trenton Central (N.J.) is the benefactor, cruising home in 42.25.
--- Eric Futch PA won the 400 hurdles in US#1 51.77 seconds, sixth-fastest in meet history and the fastest in 10 years. Later, Futch split 48.5 to anchor Penn Wood to the Philadelphia Area 4x400 title (3:18.16).
--- Central Bucks West gets a monster anchor of 56.3 from Jamila Branch to win the Philadelphia Area 4x400 in 3:52.91.
---Edward Cheserek ran a leg on St. Benedict's (N.J.) 4x400 relay team that won the prep school section of the event in 3:19.96. He split about 51 seconds.
---Trenton Central (N.J.) posted the top U.S. time, 3:16.29, in the boys 4x400 relay qualifying rounds. Junipero Serra (Calif.) was the only other U.S. team in the top eight, running 3:17.18.
--- Ibn Short of Milton Hershey (Pa.) finished third in the high jump at 6-9, trailing a pair of Jamaicans. Christof Bryan of Wolmer's Boys (Jam) went 6-11.50 for the win.
--- Michael Jensen of Appoquinimink (Del.) won the pole vault with a clearance at 16-4.75.
--- Still to come, boys 4x400 and 4x800 COA.

FRIDAY

--- Long Beach Poly CA girls win their second consecutive Championship of America title in the 4x100 relay, thanks to a huge anchor leg for sophomore Ariana Washington. Washington took the baton in third or fourth, but rallied her team past Jamaican schools Herbert Morrison and and Edwin Allen to win in 46.35. Only Traci Hicks returned in 2012 from the 2011 championship team.
--- St. Benedict's (N.J.) came from behind with Edward Cheserek's 4:06.2 anchor and won the boys' DMR with US#2 10:07.76, topping the #4 10:08.96 from defending champ CBA (N.J.).
--- Craig Engel of Ronald Reagan NC denied top returnee Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland WV in the boys' mile, 4:09.42 to 4:09.49.
--- Thomas Madden of Skyline VA won the boys' 3,000 by more than four seconds in 8:25.54.
--- Fayetteville-Manlius NY couldn't stay with Jamaica's Edwin Allen in the girls 4x800 COA race, but finished a solid second and lowered the US#1 time this season to 9:04.22. Edwin Allen ran 8:52 to win for the second straight year.
--- Sam Mattis of East Brunswick NJ produced a big PR of US#1 211-11 to win the boys discus.
--- Billy Stanley of South Park PA threw US#2 223-3 and won the javelin competition by 22 feet.
--- In the boys shot put indoor natoinal champion Braheme Days of Bridgeton NJ threw 68-8.50 for the victory. It's the fourth-best winning throw in meet history and Days is the sixth straight winner from New Jersey.
--- Wolmer's Boys (Jamaica) ran 40.96 to lead all qualifers into the finals of the boys 4x100 relay, followed by Potomac (Oxon Hills), the top US team with 41.45
--- Westfield VA leads boys 4x800 qualifying with a US#5 7:48.39.

THURSDAY

---Mary Cain (Bronxville, N.Y.) stuns Franklin Field with a 62.5 last lap and a 4:39.28 girls' mile victory. In topping 2-time defending champ Angel Piccirillo (2nd, 4:47.49), she smashes the Penn record, sets a national soph record, and moves to #7 all-time.
--- Tatnall (Del.) wins the DMR in a meet record and US#1 11:28.86, #3 all-time, anchored by Haley Pierce's 4:42.8 1600. Giving North Shore (N.Y.) a big lead early was Brianna Nerud with a 3:26.7 1,200, the fastest leadoff ever in meet. They were 2nd in 11:39.29.
---Sophie Chase (Lake Braddock, Va.) took the 3,000 meters in US#4 9:37.86, winning by five seconds over Tori Gerlach PA and with teammate Hannah Christen a very close 3rd for an impressive 1-3 finish.
--- Fayetteville-Manlius (N.Y.) ran US#1 9:04.21 to win its section of the 4x800 relay and set up a showdown with Jamaica's Edwin Allen (8:58.51). F-M's race included 2:12.4 split for Katie Brislin and 2:15.8 split for Katie Sischo. Edwin Allen was led by Desveen Montague, who split 2:07.7.
--- Long Beach Poly began its Penn Relays title defense of the girls 4x100 by running 46.39 in qualifying -- the fastest time of the day. Wakefield (N.C.) and Mount Vernon (N.Y.) also qualified for the Championship of America finals, along with five schools from Jamaica.
---Holmwood Tech JAM paced 4x400 qualifying with 3:45.58, with Wakefield N.C. netting the second best with US#6 3:46.64 (Ariah Graham 54.7). Four U.S. teams made the final.

PREVIEWS

---Doug Binder's Top Ten Storylines
---WALT MURPHY'S Penn Relays Preview

ACCEPTANCES

--- DISTANCE RELAYS: Christian Brothers - St. Benedict's DMR clash looms large - SteveU Story
--- INDIVIDUALS: Mile fields will be hot - Doug Binder Story

It IS a carnival

They call it a Carnival, and that it is. Crowds totalling more than 100,000 in 3 days, international elite relays, the best US college distance teams, thousands of high school athletes, and food and souvenir stands for blocks around venerable Franklin Field.

The international relays with Olympic athletes are called, "USA vs. the World." The college and high school finals are called, "Championship of America." It's not just hype.

The high school portion alone would make it the biggest meet of the year. There are 1,047 high schools represented, including 62 from 11 foreign countries. Jamaica alone sends athletes from 33 schools. The Jamaica-US showdowns in the relays are an annual highlight, often leading to national records.

The 985 US high schools represented come from 20 states, predominantly in the East, led by New Jersey (251 schools), Pennsylvania (228) and New York (202).

HIGH SCHOOL ENTRIES