Overview: To some, winning a Penn Relays Gold Watch is a goal just as, and even sometimes moreso important than winning a national championship. Watches are awarded only to the overall American winners in Championship of America events at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, kicking off for the 119th time this Thursday at Franklin Field. In some cases, most notably the sprints, it is harder to win a spot on the top of the medal stand than it is to win a national championship. This fact is because of the international draw the relays bring to Philly; currently, there are 62 schools registered that are not from the United States, with Jamaica the most represented foreign country with 32 individual schools. For some, winning a watch means beating the world.
While the main events remain the short relays, specifically the 4x100m and 4x400m, the distance relays and open events are available on an invite basis. And with the the high quality meet comes a high caliber field in each of the 4 invitational distance events. We broke down the competition to help you see where the action may take place.
Boys Invite Mile
Event Record
| Chantilly (Va.) | 4:04.47 | 2013 | Sean McGorty |
Breakdown: The New York State Indoor Champion, Luke Gavigan, will be looking to transplant his talent in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, as he is the top of the field for the invite mile. Notice how some numbers are missing from the seeds? Originally, three athletes from the Republic of South Africa were entered, but has disappeared from more recent start lists. Without the trio, Ian Milder of North Carolina looks to be the biggest threat. He's already had the experience of big Invitational racing, after making the pilgrimage to Arcadia earlier in the year. Alongside Gavigan on the NY front, James Burke and Liam Purdy are always within contention for the race, stemming from many matchups on the lead up to the Millrose mile indoors. Will we see a dramatic improvement from the seeds, to upset the four-second gap Gavigan has built in? Find out Friday night.
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Boys Invite 3000
Event Record
| Monroe-Woodbury (Central Valley, N.Y.) | 8:05.8 | 1986 | John Trautmann |
Breakdown: Now things get a little more interesting. At the Indoor Nationals Meet, a surprise entry stole the show over two miles. A Canadian, Charles Cooper, won the (International?) title, winning in the final steps. While Cooper won't be attendance, another Canadian will look to steal this show as well. Syracuse-bound Justyn Knight, has been on a tear in the nation to the north, and comes in as the top seed. Much like the girls' field, the top American entries are two from Connecticut. Christian Alvarado was the nations fastest heading into NBIN, but faded in the final. He will be looking to change up the race strategy to account for his last big race, and Alex Ostberg will be joining him as the states' top talent. Brian Cook of New York, 7th at Nationals, and Jason Menzies of Virginia are the next athletes on the cusp of stealing a win over the shorter distance. Most athletes are accustomed to the full 2-miles, or 3200m, and the lightened load may produce some fast kicks. This could very well be anyone's race.
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Boys Invite 4x800m
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Event Record
7:30.67 — Albemarle, Charlottesville, Va. (2009) |
800m Splits Relays’ Top Performers 1:49.1—Alan Webb, South Lakes: Reston, Va. (2001) 1:49.17—Jacob Clarke, Pleasantville: Pleasantville, NJ. (2013) 1:49.33—Anthony Kostelac, Albemarle: Charlottesville, Va. (2009) |
Breakdown: Make no mistake, this one is going to be fast. 8 of the top 10 Indoor 4x800m's will be on the line at Penn, in addition to several breaking into that top 10 Outdoors. Chaminade went US #2 All-Time Indoors to win a national title, and recently switched out of the DMR to focus on the 4x800m. That race at nationals came down to the final meters, and Kenneth Hagen of Blacksburg will be itching for a rematch against Chaminade anchor Sean Kelly. Osbourn Park had been the national leaders before that race, and will return for redemption against their fellow Virginia team. It looks like the meet record may be safe, but who knows with a field this deep. Note: Very little is known about the boys Jamaican squads entered in the event. As such, we've included the finals of the Jamaican National Champs, as indicators that they are not to be disregarded.
| Top Teams Breakdown | ||||
| Team | Chaminade, NY | Blacksburg, VA | Osbourne Park, VA | State College, PA |
| Meet | New Balance Indoor Nationals | New Balance Indoor Nationals | New Balance Indoor Nationals | New Balance Indoor Nationals |
| Total | 7:40.80 | 7:41.95 | 7:44.55 | 7:46.81 |
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Boys Invite DMR
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Event Record |
1200m Splits Relays’ Top Performers 2:59.8y—Alex Trammell, St. Joseph’s Coll.: Buffalo, N.Y. (1972) 3:00.8—John Sullivan, Bernards: Bernardsville, N.J. (1979) 3:01.1—Ray Brown, St. Alban’s: Washington, D.C. (1980) |
1600m Splits Relays’ Top Performers 3:59.9—Alan Webb, South Lakes: Reston, Va. (2000) 4:02.9—Garreth Turnbull, St. Malachy’s: Belfast, Ire. (1997) 4:03.0y—Marty Liquori, Essex Catholic: Newark, N.J. (1967) |
Breakdown: Only one team has ever broken 10 minutes for the event. Only one leadoff has ever broken 3 minutes. Both statistics look to be in jeopardy in 2014. At Indoor Nationals, which the race is essentially a rematch of, plus CBA of NJ, Cardinal O'Hara ran away from fellow Pennsylvanian team West Chester Henderson to win a national title. O'Hara came only just shy of breaking that magic DMR barrier indoors, and will look to challenge a more than impressive meet record at Penn. However, on lead off, Jay Navin of Saratoga will battle Mikey Brannigan of Northport, to comes across first, and possibly break the split record, giving them the early advantage. No one has ever broken 3 minutes, while the race has been in meters, and these two look poised to accomplish. The wild card is the team from California, Palos Verdes. They've shown success out west, and look to bring a title back to the family. That's because their anchor leg is none other than Miles Irish, JR, son of the Burnt Hills, NY graduate, who would later set a DMR World Record at the event in 1987 (alongside Mike Stahr of Carmel, and John Trautmann of Monroe-Woodbury). This could get interesting.
| Top Teams Breakdown | |||||
| Team | Cardinal O'Hara, PA | West Chester Henderson, PA | Northport, NY | Saratoga Springs, NY | Palos Verdes, CA |
| Meet | New Balance Indoor Nationals | New Balance Indoor Nationals | New Balance Indoor Nationals | New Balance Indoor Nationals | New Balance Indoor Nationals |
| Total |
10.00.75 (Indoor National Champs) |
10:04.45
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10:04.98
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10:07.11
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10:09.98 (Miles Irish, jr anchors) |
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