Kaulbach blows away field on anchor leg
By Christopher Hunt
PHILADELPHIA – Germantown Friends (Pa.) coach Rob Hewitt watched his athletes lug the huge Penn Relays plaque across the infield at Franklin Field. He said it was the best thing ever.
“It’s everything we wanted,” he said.
Germantown Friends won the Championship of America distance medley relay Friday. Issac Ortiz (3:07.6), Jake McKenzie (52.4), Tom Waterman (1:56.4) and Max Kaulbach (4:15.1) finished in 10:11.54. Germantown was buried deep in third place when Kaulback took the baton. But when Brad Ackerman of Warwick Valley (N.Y.) and Brian Trainor of Shenendehowa (N.Y.) began their anchor legs, they decided to feel each out and the pace signficantly slowed.
Soon Kaulbach erased a 40 meter advantage while the three leaders trotted down the back straightaway with three laps left and the rest of the field closing. Then with 1,000 remaining, Kaulbach took off.
“I was expecting those guys to run faster,” Kaulbach said. “I started out pretty easy and I thought they would follow. But no one came up. I just kept pushing harder.”
They made the contest a kicker’s race and Kaulback owned the best kick. Kaulbach was at full throttle with 300 left and a clumped field in his wake.
“They gave us a gift,” Hewitt said about the pedestrian pace Ackerman and Trainor set. “They gift wrapped that 1,600 for us. … We just wanted to get the stick to the anchor with a chance to win. Everyone really stepped it up.”
Hewitt said his team arrived with no expectations, no goals, they just planned to run hard and fast. That proved more than enough.
“This is amazing,” Kaulbach said. “It’s a really big deal.”
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.
Top photo by Tim Fulton, side photo by Don Rich - PennTrack.com
 Warwick's Matt Fox running the 1200m leg |
 Scarsdale's Jacob Wexler running the 1200m leg with Shen in the background |