Top Ten Moments
1. Mary Cain Record
It was all smiles for the sophomore sensation, Mary Cain of Bronxville. And those smiles were deserved, after her definitive win in the Championship of America Mile. Cain sat for three laps with 2-time winner Angel Picirillo of Homer Central PA. Taking the sit and kick approach, Cain shocked the audience Thursday night when her closing lap broke out into a full sprint. Her closing leg of 62.5 left the competition behind, and led to a new Penn Relays Meet Record of 4:39.5.
“With 600 meters to go, I just thought ‘I have so much more,’” Cain mentioned. “I just kicked with everything I had.”
For more of the interview, watch below.
2. Silver Linings For North Shore, FM
Perennial distance powerhouses North Shore and Fayetteville-Manlius found themselves to have a lot in common after the weekend. Both had tall orders to achieve, as FM had opted to challenge the Jamaican team Edwin Allen that ran 8:38 last year in the 4x800, and North Shore challenged Tatnall, the Indoor National Champions in the 4xMile. However, despite 2nd place finishes for both squads, each team had specific victories of their own.
North Shore’s relays had been shut down in the winter season, after a nagging calf tightness sideline senior Samantha Nadel. In the meantime, Tatnall was busy running seriously fast times, as their winning Indoor National 4xMile time stands as US #2 All-Time. It was the Penn Relays that Nadel made her return to the track in nearly 2 monthes, bringing the Vikings to a second place finish in 11:39.29. Tatnall, who had gotten the baton even with North Shore, was anchored by senior Haley Pierce in 4:42.9, and ran a new meet record in 11:28.86.
However, North Shore’s 2nd place run proved to bring a record as well. Fellow senior Brianna Nerud, who ran some very impressive steeple chases in the early season, went 3:26.7 in the leadoff 1200 meter leg, a new Penn Relays record. For the middle leg, Erin Sheerin took over Jessica Donohue’s position on the 400m leg, proving North Shore’s depth of talent. Also impressive, Samantha Nadel went 4:53.8 for her first race back from injury. It proved that Nadel was on the right road to recovery, and reiterated that the season is far from over. Nadel also returned home to Long Island to run on Saturday in the 3000, where she split 4:55 and 4:48 for a total 9:43.5. It is good to see the reigning Millrose Mile Champion back on the track.
For Fayetteville-Manlius, the danger was clear. The year prior, Edwin Allen had run 8:39.22, nearly 5 seconds faster than the current American Record. Allen returned 3 of those 4 members to the Relays this year, and promised to run fast times. After the trials, it was only Edwin Allen who qualified faster than FM. However, on the American side, it was FM’s junior Katie Brislin who emerged with the fastest American split: 2:12.4. Their time of 9:04.21 also established the new US #1 time.
With the finals, the girls of upstate New York now had a dangerous duo to cope with. 3rd seed Holmwood Teach (JA) had qualified behind FM, despite the capability to run better. Overcoming a very physical race, Fayetteville-Manlius pulled away from Holmwood to place 2nd behind Edwin Allen in the exact same time, 9:04.22. The finish earned the girls the title of “Champions of America” by being the first placing American team. It also did so by running the nation’s fastest time all-year. Remember, this is also after only less than a month of training, as compared to the southern states elongated outdoor season, as well as the Jamaican season which has ended two weeks prior. Also, the girls proved they had the strength needed, as there was little more than 24 hours between each of their races. All-in-all, it was good preview of what is to come later on in the season.
3. Strymar Strykes
Strymar Livingston, senior National Record holder indoors for both the 500m and 600m running for Christopher Columbus High School, took a different approach to the Penn Relays. While most come with their high school relays, Livingston chose to run with his club, New Horizon TC. His efforts proved fruitful, as his team took the victory, clocking a very fast 3:11.24. Livingston shattered any doubt that he belonged in the division, by splitting a very fast 46.5. After the race, the experienced senior talked with us about upcoming events,
“I should be committing to a college by the end of next week,” Livingston said. “It’s been a tough decision between two schools, and I’ve weighed my options at each.”
For more of the interview, watch it below.
4. St. John The Baptist breaks through
Coming into the 'Relays, it was all about Boys and Girls. They were the Indoor National champs, they had repeated in the 4x400m as well, and were the top American seed. But when push came to shove, it was the Long Islanders who came out on top for NY in the long relay. In the final, St. John the Baptist repeated their effort, to a 7th place finish over the Indoor champs 8th. Splits are below for both teams
| 7 | St. John the Baptist (West Islip, NY) | 7:49.61 | Gerard Benfield (1:58.7), Thomas DuPlessis (1:56.0), Jeremy Schneider (1:57.7), Sean Ferguson (1:57.2) | K | |
| 8 | Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, NY) | 7:49.75 | Richard Rose (1:59.2), Joel Johnson (1:57.4), Javaun Grant (1:52.7), Robert Rhodes (2:00.4) |
5. NY takes the field
While New York never did take an individual win in the field events, several performances did stand out. In the pole vault, Iona Prep standout Greg Gallagher took 4th with a 15-5 jump. In the Discus, NY went 6-8 with great throws in the 170's for Dominik Kosar, Noah White, and AJ Wolf. For the high jump, Newburgh's Xavier McCallister hit 6-7.75 for 4th. Congrats!
6. Mile Madness
Zavon Watkins of Liverpool had a little more on his plate this weekend than he did with the Millrose and US Open Mile Invitationals he won in style. Here, Watkins was up against much tougher opposition, who regularly skirt with sub 4:09, an area that has elluded the senior who is more accustomed to the 800m. Watkins went out quick with the pack, and held on for two strong laps. He crossed the line strong in 6th place at 4:15.49. That time is now NY #2, only after an Invite Mile upstate that produced a new NY #1 Saturday morning.
7. Distance Medley Mayhem
While the race was between several teams from New Jersey, New York has some incredible times posted as well. Arlington was NY's top finisher, taking 4th with some impressive splits, totalling 10:13.37. That is now NY #2 for spring. Splits are below.
| 4 | Arlington (LaGrangeville, NY) | 10:13.37 | Eddie Merenda (3:07.9), Josh Wright (53.1), Chris Koenitzer (1:57.4), Sibby Hanson (4:15.0) |
8. Medgar Evers, Mt. Vernon make finals
With a competition that is usually dominated by Jamaican teams, the girls from Medger Evers and Mt. Vernon made their way to the finals. Mount Vernon went 47.98 in the 4x100 final, while Medgar Evers set a new NY #1 by hitting 3:52.05, taking 6th overall.
9. Bay Shore clears Hurdles
Bay Shore placed well in both sections of the 400 meter hurdles, as Kadesh Roberts took 2nd overall for the boys in 52.43, and Jessica Gelibert took 5th overall for the girls in 60.2.
10. VIP’s on-site
Athletes were not the only thing on display at the Penn Relays. Perenial Penn participant Bill Cosby (Right) was on hand to start a slew of races. Asafa Powel (Left), recorder holder for most number of sub-10 seconds 100m dashes, was on the in-field to cheer on his teammates. In addition, the Jamaican prime minister came on to cheer her National Sport, as well as All-time greats such as John Carlos and Carl Lewis (Middle)
