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[Walt Murphy publishes Eastern Track and is a consultant for telecasts of track meets] Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service Eastern Track Cool Penn 109th PENN RELAYS Ari Lambie (Bromfield,Ma) won the girls mile in 4:42.21, the fastest U.S. prep time in 18 years. California’s Long Beach Poly dominated the high school relays, winning four races and setting a National H.S. record in the girls 4x400. Jamaica schools came away with only one win(girls 4x800). Northport(NY) won an exciting boys DMR, while Red Bank Regional(NJ) won the girls race by almost ten seconds. Michigan won a wild men’s DMR which featured the greatest lead off battle in Penn history. Here is a chronological look at what happened over the best three days
on the track calendar. THURSDAY (This year’s Relays marked the 25th Anniversary of the addition of a full day of competition for high school girls and college women.) CW-400...Hurdles(First race of the weekend). Running in cool and breezy conditions, Melaine Walker (Essex County College-NJ), winner of the high school race in 2001 and 2002, led coming off the final turn, but South Carolina’s Lashinda Demus, the defending Penn champ (and the 2002 World Junior Champion), edged ahead at the 9th hurdle. The two were virtually even down the backstretch (the 400h starts and finishes at the 200 mark) until Demus pulled away to win in 56.90. Walker finished 2nd(57.24) and Demus’s teammate, Tiffany Ross, finished 3rd(57.72. HSG-400h...As expected, William Penn’s Christina Smith was out fast, followed closely by Tiffany Abney (Merion Mercy). Jamaican champ Sheryl Morgan (Holmwood Tech) took command heading into the final stretch and won going away(58.15). The battle for 2nd (and a Relays watch, which goes to the top American finisher when an international runner wins) came down to a battle of three Philadelphia-area rivals, with Nicole Leach(West Catholic-59.00) getting the nod over Abney(59.18) and a fading Smith(59.89). HSG-4x800(Heats)...Long Beach Poly(Ca) had the fastest time in the four races--9:09.00--as only five teams broke 9:20. HSG-4x100(Heats)...LB Poly had the fastest time here also(46.23), while William Penn(Pa) ran 46.88 to extend its streak for qualifying for at least one Championship to 21 years in a row. CW-4x100(Heats)...No surprises here, as LSU(44.51), Texas(44.92) and South Carolina(45.09) advanced. Auburn (44.47) and Indiana(44.51) battled each other in the 6th heat and produced the two fastest times. HSG 4x400(Heats)...Setting the stage for Friday’s epic final, Penn defender Holmwood Tech(JAM) and Long Beach Poly(Ca) ran 3:42.40 and 3:43.52, respectively, in back-to-back heats. William Penn qualified for its 2nd Championship by winning the Philadelphia Public race in 3:47.21. Shana Cox, running for non-qualifying Trinity(NY), had the fastest split in the qualifying set of races-52.3). Eastern Regional(NJ) ran 3:49.46 but didn’t qualify for the Championship Final! CW-DMR...WIth last year’s winning foursome returning, North Carolina was a solid favorite to repeat. Erin Donohue(Haddonfield,NJ) took the lead heading into the backstretch of the final lap of the lead-off 1200 leg(3:25.0) and handed off virtually even with Florida State’s Laura Gerber(3:24.9). Anissa Gainey gave the Tar Heels a slight lead with her 53.3 split on the 400 leg, with Florida State the only team close at this point. Alice Schmidt, the reigning NCAA 800-meter champion, broke open the race with her 2:04.3 carry, and Shalane Flanagan(Marblehead,Ma) finished things off with her quick 4:34.1 anchor. Arkansas (11:10.78) and Villanova(11:12.04) finished a distant 2-3. CW-4x400(Heats)...LSU survived a scare when they were originally disqualified for cutting in too soon on the 2nd leg, but were later reinstated after appealing the initial ruling. Texas (3:35.2) and South Carolina (3:35.7) had the fastest times. HSG-DMR...It would be hard to match last year’s historic race, when Boys & Girls(NY) beat Red Bank Regional(NJ) and Bronxville(NY). The Trotter twins were back for Red Bank and Amanda got her team off to a great start this year with her lead-off 1200 split of 3:34.6, one of the fastest ever at Penn, but her team slipped back over the next two legs. Bronxville, which returned its own set of twins in the Mullens, had a 15-meter lead after three legs, thanks in part to Elizabeth Bergold’s 2:14.8 split. Katie Trotter closed the gap for Red Bank within one lap, with Saratoga’s dangerous frosh, Nicole Blood, some 40-meters back in 3rd. Trotter started to pull away after 800-meters and her 4:49.9 anchor 1600 carried Red Bank to the win in 11:46.59, the 5th-fastest ever run at Penn. Blood’s 4:50.6 anchor allowed her to catch Mullen with 200 to go as Saratoga finished 2nd in 11:56.39 and Bronxville took 3rd (for the 2nd year in a row) in 11:57.08. HSG MILE...Stanford bound Ari Lambie (Bromfield School,Ma), took charge 1/2-way thorugh the race on her way to running 4:42.21 to break Kim Gallagher’s 24-year old Relays Record of 4:49.9(the race was conducted at 1500-meters from 1980-1997). Lambie’s time is also the fastest run by a U.S. prep in 18-years and makes her the 3rd-fastest Eastern prep in history(see results for all-time list). Soph Sarah Bowman(Fauquier,Va) finished 2nd in 4:48.69. HSG-3000...Victoria Webster (St.Alban’s) came all the way from England to get some competition, but she was pretty much by herself as she won by almost 12 seconds. Her winning time of 9:33.97 is the 6th-fastest ever at Penn. THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE RACES Olympic Development-MEN’S Steeplechase...John Mortimer, who won
the college OD-WOMEN’S Steeplechase--Brianna Shook, last year’s collegiate champion (Toledo), won in 9:56.63, the fastest time in the world this year. CW-5000...Yale senior Kate O’Neill won in 15:51.86, 3rd-fastest ever at Penn. Twin sister Laura finished 4th in 16:16.56. CM-5000...Iona’s Richard Kiplagat won in 13:58.37, as Manhattan’s Matt Spring also dipped uner 14-minutes(13:59.96). Ryan Bak, the NCAA Div.III X-Country Champion from Trinity, finished 4th in 14:00.53. OD-MEN’S 5000...Kenyan Shadrack Kosgei set a Relays Record with his impressive winning time of 13:16.47, but the big news was Bob Kennedy’s 3rd-place finish(13:43.96). The oft-injured American Record holder at 3000 and 5000 meters was satisfied with his first race in almost two years. “I’m on a two-year plan. The (2004) Olympics are definitely a goal”. This was Kennedy’s first appearance at Penn since 1993 when he won this race in 13:43.63. (Kosgei would go on to win the mile on Saturday). CW 10,000... Keene State’s Mary Proulx, who won the collegiate 5000 last year, doubled her distance this year but still came away a winner(33:21.80). CM-10,000...Iona’s Peter Riley won with an impressive time of 28:41.13 FIELD EVENTS CW-LJ...Auburn’s ELva Goulbourne, the 2003 NCAA Indoor Champion, set a Relays Record of 21-10 to win here for th 2nd year in a row. CW-SP...Another successful defender was North Carolina’s Laura Gerraughty(Nashua,NH), who got a PR and set a Relays Record of 60-6. CW-HT(Championship)...Florida’s Candice Scott improved her collegiate record with her opening throw of 223-10. HSG-TJ...Yvette Lewis (Menchville,Va) moved to #6 on the All-Time Penn list with her winning jump of 41-5 3/4. CW-JT...Moravian’s Christina Scherwin won for the 2nd year in a row and her winning throw of 177-0 just missed the Relays Record of 177-3(new implement). CW-HT(College)...Laura Gerraughty picked up her 2nd win in this “college” division of the hammer(205-8). CW-PV...Arkansas’ April Steiner set a Relays Record with her winning height of 14-0. FRIDAY HSB-4x800(Heats)...Midlothian(Va) had the fastest time(7:50.77)) HSB-4x100(Heats)...Big shock in the 3rd heat when the anchor for pre-meet favorite Camperdown(JAM) took off way too soon and the team was disqualified for passing out of the zone. Newburgh Free Academy(NY) led all qualifiers with a time of 41.72. CM-4x100(Heats)...Pre-meet favorite Texas led all qualifiers with a time of 39.64. Houston(39.84), which is coached by Leroy Burrell, who competed at Penn for Penn Wood H.S.(Pa), the University of Houston, and the Santa Monica TC, and Texas Christian(39.87) were the only other teams to get under 40-seconds. HSG-4x800...Edwin Allen (8:52.59) provided Jamaica with what would turn out to be its only relay win at Penn. Long Beach Poly(Ca-8:58.00) finished 2nd to a set of watches as the top American team. There was a terrific battle for 3rd and Eastern bragging rights. Bishop Loughlin, whose coach, Ed Bowes, is retiring after this school year was brought back into the race on the 2nd leg by frosh Janean (“Nay-Nay”) Morris, who split 2:11.9. Boys&Girls, which set a National Record while winning here last year, led after the first two legs, but had dropped back by the time the anchor leg started. Tanya Osbourne, who had just returned from a long layoff due to an injury, split 2:12.4 to give Loughlin(9:02.04) a narrow edge over Boys & Girls(9:02.07), whose Adrenee Stewart ran 2:12.6. Frosh Nicole Blood’s 2:10.5 anchor brought Saratoga Springs(NY) from far back to finish 5th(9:03.33). CW-4x100...Muna Lee anchored LSU to victory and a Relays Record (42.73) as defender South Carolina failed to finish the race. CW-4x1500...The running order was different, but the makeup of the team was the same as Carol Henry, Erin Donohue, Alice Schmidt, and Shalane Flanagan (all of whom return next year!) easily won this event for the 2nd year in a row(17:20.18, 2nd-fastest ever at Penn). Flangan’s anchor split of 4:10.5 is the 2nd faster at Penn. Her 4:12.9 from last year is the 3rd best. Villanova’s runnerup time of 17:32.30 would have won this event in most years. CM-4x200(Heats)...No surprises as Florida led all qualifiers with a time of 1:22.36. CW-4x200(Heats)...The three fastest collegiate teams in history won their heats, with Texas running 1:31.65, the fastest qualifier ever at Penn. LSU won its heat in 1:33.52 and South Carolina theirs in 1:33.01. HSG-4x100...Long Beach Poly(Ca), with Shana and Shalonda Solomon running the first and last legs, won in 44.96, the fastest ever run by an American team at Penn(#3-AT U.S.). Jamaica schools took the next three places. CM-Shuttle Hurdles(4x120y)...The South Carolina lineup of Corey Taylor, Fred Townsend, Charles Ryan and freshman Ken Ferguson ran 53.94 to smash the Relays(54.72) and Collegiate(54.40) records. CW-Shuttle Hurdles(4x100m)...The seeded race had to be rerun after it was discovered that a line of hurdles has been placed at the wrong spot on the track. The 2nd time around, LSU, with a lineup of Ranysha LeBlanc, Tiffany Robinson, Zamyal Jackson, and Lolo Jones, ran 53.04 to establish a new American Record. South Carolina ran a respectable 53.83 but was a distant 2nd. CM-DMR...Once again, this event lived up to its billing as the “Signature” event of the Relays. Arkansas was the favorite, but that role doesn’t carry much weight in this event at Penn. The Razorbacks’ Daniel Lincoln, the 2-time defending NCAA Champion in the steeplechase, led the pack through the first 800 of the opening 1200 leg in a fast 1:53.1, but he wasn’t losing anyone of significance. Florida’s Moise Joseph started moving on the backstretch, going into the lead on the final turn, but it was Michigan’s Nick Willis who finished best, and he handed off in fisrt place. Willis’s amazing split of 2:49.7 was a Penn Record, bettering the 2:50.1 that Mark Belger ran for Villanova in 1977(when the 1200 was the 3rd leg). But Willis wasn’t the only one with a good split as those for Kentucky’s David Freeman (2:51.1), Florida’s Joseph(2:51.2), Villanova’s Tom Parlapiano(2:51.5), and Lincoln (2:51.8) were all among the best ever at Penn. Michigan’s lead all but disappeared on the 400 leg as Arkansas(Robbie Stevens-45.3), Florida(Stefan Pastor-45.5) and Villanova (Nic O’Brien-45.8) made it a 4 team race as they headed into the 800 leg. Arkansas (Mike Taylor-1:48.0) and Michigan (Andrew Ellerton-1:48.3) handed off just about even after the 800 leg, with Villanova(Paul Moser-1:48.8) a close 3rd. Amazingly, all three teams were ahead at this point of the pace set by the Arkansas team that set the world record of 9:20.10 at the 1989 Relays(With Joe Falcon running a 3:53.8 anchor). Florida and Kentucky were about a second and-a-half behind Villanova. Any hopes of seeing another world record were quickly dashed when it became apparent in the first 100-meters that the Razorabacks’ Alistair Cragg, the NCAA Indoor champ at 3000 and 5000 meters, and the Wolverines Nate Brannen, the NCAA Indoor 800 champ, were settling in for a tactical race. The slow pace on the first lap allowed almost the whole field to eventually get back into the race. At one point, there were at least 11 teams running as a group. Brannen and Cragg, both apparently confident that they could outkick anyone else in the field, went through the first 400 in 64.8! But the pace got even slower on the 2nd lap, as they hit 800-meters in a pedestrian 2:12.6!. With 600-meters to go, Cragg started picking up the pace and the field started to thin out. Cragg still held the lead as the bell rang for the last lap(3:13.4), but Brannen, with a best of 1:46.00 for 800-meters, moved ahead on the backstretch and appeared to be in control. Villanova’s Ryan Hayden (Adrian Blincoe finished his eligibility during the indoor season) was lurking close behind in 3rd. But Cragg, showing the heart of a champ, came back on Brannen down the homestretch, even edging into the lead. Brannen had some fight of his own left, and somehow managed to regain the lead to give Michigan the narrow win(9:32.65-9:32.87). Villanova was 3rd in 9:33.44. INTERMEDIARY SPLITS 1200 400 800 Michigan 2:49.7 3:36.9 5:25.2 Arkansas 2:51.8 3:37.1 5:25.1 Villanova 2:51.5 3:37.3 5:26.1 Florida 2:51.2 3:36.7 5:27.4 Kentucky 2:51.1 3:38.6 5:27.4 Arkanas-’89(WR)2:53.9 3:40.3 5:26.3 CM-4x400(Heats)...TCU won its heat in 3:03.65, the fastest collegiate time of the year. Running lead-off for TCU was Jason Morgan, who ran for Lawrence H.S.(NY). Running against him on th lead-off leg for LSU was his high school teammate, Anthony Ewers. Interesting battle on the anchor in the 3rd heat. Texas freshman Ashton Collins may have cut in a little too soon to go ahead of Florida’s Rickey Harris after the handoff. The crowd let out with a “woo” as Harris went by his young rival on the backstretch and opened up a lead as both teams qualified for the Championship Final. Seton Hall, with O.J. Hogans running a 45.7 anchor, won its heat in 3:08.62 but didn’t make it in. HSB-DMR...Northport(NY) had skipped both National indoor meets to prepare for this race. The strategy paid off with a win in 10:15.70. Northport had an early lead on the strength of Bryan Quinn’s 3:06.4 lead-off leg, but Conrad Dalton’s 1:53.7 brought Fordham Prep from far back to have the lead as the anchor leg began. Northport soph Kevin Tschihart sat on the Prep’s Brian McCabe for 2-1/2 laps, then both were passed by Cardinal O’Hara(Pa)’s Steve Hallinan, who had made up a 15-meter deficit. Tschirhart quickly moved in behind Hallinan, with McCabe close behind. With 300-meters to go, and with each having plenty left(they went through 1200-meters in 3:19.4), McCabe and Tschihart both started to make their move past Hallinan. McCabe was moving on the outside when Tschirhart, who was getting squeezed in the middle, threw an elbow that knocked McCabe off stride. Based on which side of the fence you’re on, it could be argued that Tschirhart was just protecting his position from an encroaching McCabe. If you’re a Prep fan,you were probably hoping that Northport would be disqualified. In any case, Tschihart (4:20.9) had clear sailing after the “bumping” and sprinted away from Fordham Prep(10:20.49) and O’Hara(10:21.14) to bring Northport home first in 10:15.70). HSB-MILE...Defender Matt DeBole(Mt.Tabor,NC) was back, but he could only manage a 4th place this year(4:13.41) behind John Richardson(Ocean City,NJ-4:11.80), Chris Kollar (Strongsville,OH-4:12.11) and Victor Gras (Belmont,Ma 4:12.69(. An emotional and elated victor, at the end of the race Richardson declared "Today is the best day of my life.... Its my father's birthday, and I promised him this morning that I would win him a gold watch. But I never thought it would happen... Last year Matt blew by us at the last turn, and I was expecting him to do that again. But when I came off the curve and knew I was in front, I just let it all go and ran as fast as I could.... Matt DeBole is a great runner, a great miler. He was tough to take on. I didn't think I was able to do it until the last 100 meters.... Ever since I was a freshman, and I came to the Penn Relays, I said to myself that my senior year I would win in the mile here. And I just can't believe it came true. I have so many supporters here, so many friends and family. To have won here is just incredible. Its the happiest day of my life.“ HSB 3000...Front-running Brian Dalpiaz (Sayville,NY) won for the 2nd year in a row(8:28.16). HSG-4x400 Championship...The Jamaican fans at Penn, with defender Holmwood Tech running with a strong team, were hoping for a win here, but they ran into a team that was on a mission. Long Beach Poly(Ca) had come all the way from California to not only win, but to set a National H.S. record. They accaomplished both as Shalonda Solomon, who had earlier anchored Poly to a win in the 4x100, ran a 51.7 anchor, the fastest high school split ever at Penn. Holmwood’s Sheryl Morgan, who had won the 400-hurdles on Thursday morning, challenged Solomon on the anchor, but eased up down the stretch when she realized she couldn’t catch her. She still ran a 53.1 split. CW-SMR...LSU(3:44.68), with Nadia Davy (Bridgeton,NJ) running the 2nd 200 and Neisha-Bernard Thomas (Tilden,NY) on the anchor(2:06.1), needed all of its early lead to hold off Tennessee(3:44.97)’s Nicole Cook, who ran 2:04.1 for her 800 leg. Evelyn Dwyer (Merion Mercy,Pa) ran a 2:07.0 anchor for Texas, which finished 3rd(3:45.48). Seton Hall, with Kenia Sinclair running 2:04.4, finished 5th(3:47.14). CM-SMR...A great anchor battle, with Tennessee’s Marc Sylvester (1:46.3) getting the better of South Carolina’s Otukile Lekote(1:46.6), the 2-time defending NCAA 800 champion. (3:14.41-3:14.79). Sean Lambert (South Shore,NY) ran lead off for the Vols. FIELD EVENTS HSG-DT...Defender Lindsay Grigoriev (Atholton,Md) improved her Relays Record to 160-5. CW-TJ...LSU’s Nicole Toney (Conard,Ct) won for the 2nd year in a row(44-4). SATURDAY HSB-400h...The weather was probably at its worst for this race, which kicked off the final day a few minutes before 9am. Favorite Kimani WIlliams (Kingston College,JAM) was upset by Puerto Rico’s Javie Culson, 52.32-52.59. OD-M400h...19-year old Bershawn Jackson, currently ineligible at South Carolina, had no competiton, his winning time of 49.18 giving him an almost 4-second cushion. CM-400h...Florida junior Rickey Harris, the 2002 NCAA Champion, was going for his 3rd straight win here, but hit a late hurdle and wound up 9th in the opening section(58.72). South Carolina freshman Ken Ferguson won in 49.63 over Auburn’s Fred Sharpe (Paulsboro,NJ), who ran 49.96. Sharpe wasn’t the only New Jersey alum to do well in this event. Florida’s Dwight Ruff (Camden,NJ) finished 4th(50.52) and St.Augustine’s Marqueth Tard (Trenton,NJ), who won the 2nd section (51.12) wound up 5th overall. All three Jerseyans would run 9 hours later in the final event of the Relays, the College men’s 4x400.(From Ed Grant) HSB-4x400(heats)...Cal’s Long Beach Poly got a scare when it dropped the stick on the 3rd leg, but a 47.1 anchor by Derrick Jones got the team home in 3:18.23, good enough to qualify for the Championship Final. Trenton Central(NJ), which was celebrating the 25th Anniversary of its amazing 4x400/4x800 double win in 1978, had the fastest time-3:13.33. Among the fastest anchors was the 47.3 run by freshman Randy Lee (Archbishop Carroll,DC). Anticipation was high to see 16-year old Jamaican star Usain Bolt, but his team, WIlliam Knibb, scratched from its heat. CM-4xMILE...Arkanas, which was still stinging from its loss in Friday’s distance medley, had the talent to challenge the magical 16-minute barrier, but any hope for a fast race went out the window when the opening legs went out almost as slowly as the anchors did in the distance medley on Friday. Daniel Lincoln broke open the race for Arkansas with his 3:58.4 2nd leg as the Razorbacks won this event for the 17th time in the last 21 years (4x1500 from 1983-1997). CM-4x100...Texas(39.20), with three freshmen on its team, was hoping to win this event for the first time since 1957. Things were looking good for the Longhorns at the final exchange, but Aaron Collins was passed on the inside by Pierre Browne, who helped Missisippi State(39.35) win its first-ever Penn Relays title. CW-4x800...North Carolina won its 3rd race of the Relays and its first-ever 4x800 title. Kentucky was pressing North Carolina through three legs, but Alice Schmidt’s 2:03.1 anchor made it a runaway at the end(8:26.71-8:31.24). Schmidt, Erin Donohue, and Shalane Flanagan ran on all three winning relays. Said Flanagan, “We all went out with a lot of heart and wanted to win for (senior) Bobbie Jo Munson(3rd leg), who is leaving us after this year.” “ USA vs the WORLD M4x100...With Jon Drummond (Overbrook,Pa) running his usual fine opening leg, the USA “Red Team, anchored by 100 world record holder Tim Montgomery, held off a strong challenge from the USA “Blue” team, which was acnhored by J.J. Johnson. (38.62-38.67). “USA vs the WORLD-W4x100...Another sweep for the USA “Red”(43.10) and “Blue” (43.42) teams. HSG TRI-STATE 4x100...One final Relays win for William Penn’s Tim Hickey, who is retiring after 38 years of coaching, the last 31 at the Philadelphia school. HSB-4x100-Championship...Deep Creek(Va) took advantage of the gentle sweep of lane 9 to win over Winslow(NJ), 41.19-41.29. CW-4x200...It was billed as a 3-way battle between LSU, Texas, and South Carolina, all of which had run under the previous collegiate record this year, but the Lady Tigers from Baton Rouge, with a lineup of Nadia Davy (Bridgeton,NJ), Monique Hall, Stephanie Durst, and Muna Lee, left no doubt which was the best team as their winning time of 1:29.78 broke their previous collegiate record of 1:30.07. Texas (1:31.22) and South Carolina(1:31.26) ran admirably in defeat, but they were no match for LSU on this day. CM-4x200...Texas, with almost the same lineup that finished a disappointing 2nd in the 4x100, looked they had won this race, but then it was discovered that anchor Aaron Collins, one of the Longhorns’ “Super”frosh, never received the baton from his twin brother Ashton on the final exchange and the team was disqualified. Moving up to the #1 spot was Jamaica’s U.Tech (Formerly known as C.A.S.T.), which became the first non-American school to win at Penn since England’s Oxford University won the 2-mile and 4-mile rela ays in 1956. “USA vs the WORLD-M4x200...Not much of a race, but the USA “Red” team certainly ran fast, its 1:19.16 just missing the Franklin Field Record of 1:19.11, which was a world record at the time(Santa Monica TC-Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Floyd Heard, Carl Lewis). Running anchor for the Red team was ex-Tennessee Vol Justin Gatlin, who was selected as the College Athlete of last year’s Relays. HSB-4x800...Cal’s Long Beach Poly won in 7:43.43 over defender Holmwood Tech(JAM), which got a great 1:50.3 anchor from Jermaine Myers. OD-W MILE...Former Villanova star Carmen Douma won in 4:33.62. CW-100h...Nichole Denby (Texas-13.09) upset Indiana’s Danielle Carruthers (13.09) and NCAA Indoor champ Lolo Jones (LSU-13.14). CM-110h...St.Augustine’s Anwar Moore (Camden,NJ) won in 13.55 OD M-110h...Dudley Dorival, the former Big East champ from Connecticut, won easily in 13.67. CW-100...Muna Lee, who had already anchored LSU to wins in the 4x100 and 4x200 picked up a 3rd watch with her win here(11.23). Finishing a close 2nd was Miami’s Lauryn Williams (Rochester,Pa), the 2002 World Junior Champion. MEN’S MASTERS 75+...101-year old Everett Hosack, a big star at last year’s Relays when he set a “world record” of 43.00 for the 100+ category, seems to have lost a step as he could only manage to “run” 55.73 this year. OD-M MILE...Kenyan Shadrack Kosgei, who won the 5000 on Thursday night in a fast 13:16.47, completed his double by winning a tactical race in 4:02.41. James Thie, who didn’t have any competition when he anchored the NY Athletic Club’s winning distance medley on Friday, was a late addition to the field and wound up 2nd(4:03.86). Thie is the 2003 British indoor 1500-meter champion. CM-4x800...On paper, this looked like it could be a classic race, but a chain of events near the end of the first leg took away much of the potential drama. Michigan’s Jeremy Schneider was on his way to a 1:50+ split, close to the lead, when he dropped the baton with about 30-meters to go before the exchange. He turned around and started to run towards the baton but ran right into Duke’s Tom Gianturco, who went down on the track. Gianturco, still stunned, then gets kneed in the temple (unintentionally) by an incoming runner and goes down again. When he finally gets up, he starts blindly running towards the stands, where fans finally point him in the right direction to make the handoff. While all this was going on, Schneider passed off in 1:57.0, essentially taking Michigan, which was following with Ellerton, Willis and Brannen, all of whom had run on the winning dmr, out of the race. Arkansas, which had been challenged by Kentucky and Georgetown through the first two legs, had a clear lead after Robbie Stevens ran 1:48.1 on the 3rd leg, and the Razorbacks’ win was finished off by Mike Taylor’s 1:49.5 anchor. Running 2nd leg for Tennessee was Ken Schappert, whose dad (of the same name) won 8 Relays watches whike competing for Villanova in the early 1970s. “USA vs the WORLD-W4x400...Once again, it became the USA against itself, with the “Red” team beating the “Blue” team, 3:26.65-3:28.47. “USA vs the WORLD-M4x400...This could have been one of the highlights of the Relays, but the Jamaicans botched the first exchange and the race became another USA intramural match, the “Blue” team running 2:58.40 for the win. HSB-4x400...Some 2-1/2 hours after helping Long Beach Poly win the 4x800, Julian Sylve and Malik Muhammad returned\ to run the 2nd and 3rd legs, respectively, on another winning team. But the team from California (3:11.22) needed all of Derrick Jones’s great 45.7 anchor to beat Winslow Township(NJ), which ran 3:11.47. Calabar, the only Jamaican team to make the final, finished 7th, completing one of the more disappointing showings by Jamaican schoola since they started coming to Penn on a regular basis. CW-4x400...Texas coach Bev Kearney, who was involved in that horrific auto accident last December, was determined to get to Penn, and she did, sitting in her wheelchair and watching the meet from the infield. Her Texas team didn’t disappoint in the final women’s running event as they ran 3:27.64 to set a Relays Rrcord. LSU, which was going for a record five Relays wins, ran well but had to be satisfied with a fast, but losing effort(3:28.68). CM 4x400...TCU, Texas, and Auburn were close as the anchor leg began, but Brandon SImpson, a transfer from George Mason, ran a 45.7 anchor to give TCU the win(3:05.41) over Texas (3:06;.47) and Aubuirn(3:06.99). FIELD EVENTS HSB-LJ...Anthony Miles (Winslow,NJ) locked up the Outstanding Performer award with his 24-6 1/2 win here. CM-JT...A win for the “home team” as Penn’s Brian Chaput wins with a throw of 227-0. OD W-HJ...There was some discussion about cancelling the event because of the poor conditions (the event was scheduled for 11am), but the athletes persevered and Tisha Waller won with a jump of 6-4. CM-PV...In one of the shortest vault competitions in Penn history (caused by the bad weather(, David Stephens (South Carolina State) won with his first-attempt clearance at the opening height of 16-5). OD-W HT...American Record holder Anna Mahon beat her long-time rival Dawn Ellerbe, 233-10 to 224-2. OD- M HT...Slovakia’s Libor Charfreitag set a Relays record of 259-11. THANKS As you can imagine, it takes months of preparation and an army of workers and volunteers to make an event like the Penn Relays run as smoothly as it does every year. At the top of that list is Relays Director Dave Johnson. If ever a person and a job were perfectly matched, this is a prime example. A former runner himself, every decision that Dave makes is with the best interest of the sport and the athletes in mind. And Dave gets year-round support from Gail Zachary, the Assistant Director of the Relays. This thank-you note is to the people who helped gather and organize the results you see in this issue. To Carla Shultzberg, Penn’s Director of Athletic Communication...to Brett Hoover, who inputs all of the entry information into the computer, then, along with his helpers, makes sure that the results of every event are properly recorded...to the late Eriik Kloiber, Brett’s right-hand man in past years, who was there this year in spirit...to Dave Evangelista, who manages the pressbox...to head-timer Richard Filler and his crew...and to Jack Pfeifer, who organizes the split crew in “timers row”. And to that split crew--a veritable “who’s who” in the sport(at least in some people’s minds)...Jonathan Berenbom, John Blackburn, Marc Bloom, Larry Byrne, Keith Conning, Scott Davis, Bernice Demello, Ed Grant, A.J. Holzherr, Bill Miller, Zeke Pfeifer, Harv Rentschler, Bob Rothenberg, Jack Shepard, Arnie Shiffrin, and Jim Spier. PENN NOTES |
