Not many athletes in New York State History can say they have two Gold Watches from the Penn Relays, let alone both from Individual Events in consecutive years. However, Lauren Harris (Sachem East) joined those ranks on Sunday morning, and did so in impressive fashion.
Contesting the 5k distance, Harris took control of the race, and shattered her personal best in the event. As a sophomore, Harris took 5th overall in the race, coming across the line in 26:47.25. One year later, with a mile National Record in her pocket, Harris came across in the first place, dropping a big personal best, hitting 25:09.63. Now, as a senior, and two more National Records to her name, Harris makes a big drop once again, winning the 2017 Penn Relays in a best of 24:17.06.
That marks placed her fourth among the Olympians, who walked simultaneously on a warm morning in Philly. It is the fastest mark in the event since 2015, and almost a full second ahead of where Harris set the National Leader earlier this month. The last person to repeat Penn Titles for NY was Katie Michta, who won the walk in 2013/2014. Harris is no stranger to the longer distances in the walk, as she will need to get used to the 10k walk, as she will represent Team USA in Peru later this year.