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 | 115th Penn Relays
Thu.-Sat., April 23-25, 2009
Franklin Field, Philadelphia PA
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Morris Hills gets 2nd in 4x800 in 7:31.60, #2 in US History
BY JIM LAMBERT
APRIL 25, 2009 - It was a race for the ages, an epic Clash of Titans that will be talked about for years and years to come.
Everyone knew that the Albemarle Va vs. Morris Hills NJ showdown in the 4x800-meter relay Championship of America race had the potential for a very fast time. But this was ridiculous as the two juggernauts staged an instant classic as they produced the greatest 4x800 ever run in U.S. high school history, and one of the most dramatic and breathtaking battles ever seen over the 115 year history of the Penn Relays.
Liam Tansey of Morris Hills and Anthony Kostelac of Albemarle were dueling side-by-side with 300 meters to go on the anchor leg as they not only raced each other, but the clock as 47,904 sun-roasted fans rose to their feet at Franklin Field in antcipation of seeing something truly spectacular.
And that's exactly what happened as Tansey and Kostelac started to dig deep as they made their final push toeard the line as the crowd roared louder and louder with each step they took.
Kostelac, a junior, finally got by Tansey with about 175 to go and refused to give up the lead as he brought Albemarle across the line first, stopping the clock in a mind boggling 7:30.67 to smash the U.S. national high school record.
Tansey was a couple strides behind, bringing Morris Hills across second in 7:31.60, also faster than the previous national mark.
 Albemarle (photo left by John Nepolitan) and Morris Hills both ran under the U.S. national record of 7:32.89 set in 2002 by Auburn of Washington and shattered the meet record of 7:35.89, set in 1990 by St. Jago of Jamaica. Morris Hills also shaved nearly eight seconds off the N.J. record of 7:39.54 set in 2005 by Colts Neck.
Tansey, who split 1:50.65, tied for No. 12 in meet history, got the baton a stride ahead of Kostelac.
``I was right where I wanted to be,’’ said Tansey. ``But that kid has crazy talent and just outkicked me. I tried to counter his move but just couldn’t keep up with him. That guy is going places. He was better today and so was Albemarle.''
There certainly wasn’t any head hanging among the Morris Hills quartet of seniors Vinny Chiusano (1:55.22), Lucas Clyne (1:52.17), Sean Pohorence (1:53.56) and Tansey, who all just shook their heads in amazement over what they had just done. .
``We didn’t win, but we ran under the national record,’’ said Tansey, who was one of the first runners to congratulate Albemarle. ``I still can’t believe we ran that fast and didn’t win.
``It is hard to be disappointed.. There really wasn’t anything else we could have done. Everyone had the best races of their lives, but it was Albemarle's day. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other team.’’
Kostelac, named the MVP of the meet for relay events based on his 1:49.4 split (No. 4 in meet history), said he knew it was going to be be a war.
``They are an unbelievably competive and talented team,’’ Kostelac said of Morris Hills, ``We knew we’d be in for one helluva race after we saw that Pohorence ran in the trials. There is no way we could of run what we did without Morris Hills being right there,’’ said Kostelac.’’
Kostealc said that outracing Tansey was one of the toughest things he's ever had to do.
``I tried to go by him (Tansey) on the backstretch but he surged, so it came down to the final 200 and whoever wanted it more,'' said the very classy Kostelac. ``I give Tansey alot of credit. It's hard to lead like that knowing there is someone on you, but he's a great runner and he showed that today.’’
Morris Hills came into the race 0-2 vs. Albemarle in the 4x800 indoors, once losing by eight seconds at the Millrsoe Games in January, and the second time by nearly seven seconds when Albemarle ran a national indoor record 7:36.99 at the Nike Nationals in Boston last month.
But this was a different Morris Hills team since Pohorence didn’t run the 4x800 indoors.
Another huge factor for Morris Hills was the stroke of genius by coach Sean Robinson, who ran Tyler Hendrickson in the trials so he could save Clyne for the final. Clyne has a history of running his best when he's fresh and that certainly was the case here as he dropped an absolute bomb with his 1:52.17 carry. Clyne handed off to Pohorence just a couple strides behind Albemarle. Pohorence then grabbed the lead with a huge push with 300 to go to give Tansey the lead.
``We knew we had closed the gap on them and that we were in it to win it this time,’’ said Clyne, whose team sliced a whopping 12 seconds off its previous best time. ``Coach Robinson's plan worked out perfectly. Everthing he did put us in position to win. ``We knew we be right on Albemarle the whole way. We're trying to find a way to be disappointed that we didn't win, but it is impossible.
``We're proud of what we’ve done. We all ran our hearts and guts out and left it all out there. Losing will make us even more hungry for the next time and hopefully we can come out on top when we meet again.’’
 Morris Hills(photo left by John Nepolitan) and Albemarle are expected to meet again at the Nike Outdoor Nationals, June 19-21 at North Carolina A & T in Greesnboro, N.C.
Can they possibly top this? You never know!
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