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2013 Previews - Penn Relays

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DyeStat.com   Apr 25th 2013, 12:06am
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11 Top Prep Storylines for the Penn Relays

 

Long Beach Poly celebrates its 2012 girls 4x100 triumph. Photo by John Nepolitan.

 

Poly's 3-peat attempt; great boys DMR, mile
matchups among top prep highlights to anticipate

 

By Steve Underwood

 

 

1. Can Poly 4x100 girls threepeat?
The boys and girls 4x100 and 4x400 relays have been for the most part dominated by Jamaican teams in recent years, but with stunning girls 4x1 victories the past two years, Long Beach Poly is on a bit of a roll.  No US school has had the success in these four events that Poly has the past 10 years; of the 12 victories US squads have managed over that time, Poly owns seven.  But the 2011 and 2012 girls’ 4x1 triumphs still qualify as surprises.  In neither instance was Poly anything like a “solid favorite,” but the experience and savvy of the Akawkaw Ndipagbor-led crew two years ago and the blazing finish of Ariana Washington last year got the job done in stunning fashion.  The Poly girls still have Washington and are really good again in 2013 (45.96), but they will be serious underdogs.  Four Jamaican teams have run 45.56 or faster, led by Edwin Allen’s best of 44.85.  Still, it would be folly to doubt Poly.

2. Another St. Bene’s-CBA DMR duel
Ed Cheserek crosses the line on his DMR anchor last year. Photo by John Nepolitan.When the teams line up for the boys’ DMR Friday, the favorites will be defending champ St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.) and 2011 champ (and 2012 runner-up) Christian Brothers Academy (Lincroft, N.J.).  But there has been much more to the storylines of these two teams in the past few years that make this matchup – in Edward Cheserek’s final Penn Relays – an intriguing one.  St. Bene’s has also had major DMR victories with its Kenyan star in two national New Balance meets (2011 outdoor and 2012 indoor), but a not-quite-as-strong quartet had to settle for third at this year’s NBNI behind Staples CT (not at Penn) and CBA.  Meanwhile, CBA’s distance crew has had its ups and downs in championship XC and relay events, but the pendulum swung upward for them again at NBNI, where their weekend also included a 4x1 Mile championship.

Although Cheserek and St. Bene’s outkicked CBA for the title last year, it was actually the beginning of a slow fade for Cheserek, who struggled to run his best late last spring.  He’s fresher and more fit this year, though, having not extended himself as far and hard in both XC and track as he did as a junior.  He could certainly run 4:02 or better for an anchor, though as a group they don’t have the sub-10 props they did in 2011.  Bottom line, though: Both squads have good reason to think they can win and it should be a classic finish.  And, if one or both falters, four other squads come in with bests between 10:13 and 10:17.

3. Boys’ Mile faves have something to prove
Ben Malone and Sean McGorty have already accomplished plenty during the past few years and won’t soon be forgotten in New Jersey and Virginia, respectively.  But a victory in Friday’s boys’ mile, especially a fast one, would Sean McGorty and Ben Malone in last year's Penn mile. Photo by John Nepolitan.go far in making their final senior campaigns memorable – in addition to maybe a measure of atonement for winter disappointments.  Malone – the Pascack NJ senior who was third here last year behind Craig Engels and Jacob Burcham – captured the Millrose Mile in February, but he didn’t PR indoors in any of his specialties and after an epic 800 victory at NBNI in 2012 (#2 all-time 1:49.94) was just fifth in the same race this year.  McGorty – the Chantilly VA senior who was 12th in this race last year – was the Foot Locker runner-up after an undefeated XC regular season last fall and has already run 8:46.07 for 3,200 this spring.  But in the NBNI 2-mile, he was broken badly mid-race by Ed Cheserek before a late rally netted him second. 

The mile is really a secondary event for both Malone and McGorty, but both have the talent to go under 4:05 (though it probably won’t happen here).  Malone ran 4:07.02 for a full mile last spring, while McGorty hit 4:09.19 for 1600 last spring.  Malone clearly has the better top-end speed, but McGorty’s kick isn’t bad at all and, at the right pace and with the right move, he could also win at the finish.  Also, don’t forget there are a handful of others who could win, as well.  Perry Hall (Baltimore, Md.) senior Vincent Ciattei is a rising star who ran a 4:11.77 mile for sixth at NBNI and Ben Ritz (Germantown, Penn. senior) was ninth at NBNI at 4:14.67 and last weekend clocked 4:12.53 for 1600.

4. Will Southerland and Cardozo continue DMR magic?
The girls of Benjamin Cardozo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were solid favorites in the DMR at NBNI last month, but safe to say that very few expected something like the 11:39.10 (#4 all-time) that these girls turned in, with anchor Sabrina Southerland throwing down an eye-popping 4:44 anchor – even while running practically solo.  Cardozo is back Thursday for the Penn DMR and there might not be a heavier favorite in any high school event.  In the several weeks since NBNI, Cardozo has kept a fairly low profile, but Southerland has shown she’s still very fit with a US#2 4:26.05 1500 last weekend at the college/open Larry Ellis meet in N.J.  A week earlier, at the Mayor’s Cup, she showed her speed with a 57.63 400 and Cardozo cruised a 9:30 4x8.  Unfortunately, it looks like the only real competition for these girls will be the clock and the record book – and the latter will be daunting after Tatnall (Wilmington, Del.) authored a meet record 11:28.86 in 2012, history’s #3 prep performance.  No other school in the event has run faster than 11:54 this year.

5. Top US 4x800 finishers could be from ... Nevada and Wisconsin!
The top US performances in the 4x800 during this meet’s history have typically come from Northeast schools (as far south as Virginia) and California.  But Nevada and Wisconsin?  It’s very unusual to get relay entries at Penn from those states, let alone serious contenders (although Olympian Gabe Jennings, representing Madison West, very notably won the boys’ 1500 here back in 1996 and 1997).  In the Centennial (Las Vegas, Nev.) boys and Neenah (Wis.) girls, however, you have two serious powerhouses.  Centennial became great during the career of Nick Hartle, the 1:49.48 performer who graduated last spring.  But with Hartle gone, there’s been no letting up as they hit a school record and US#2 7:42.52 for second at Mt. SAC last weekend.  That puts them at the top of this year’s entries, though there will be very formidable competition from Pleasantville NJ – which ran 7:45 indoors but did not run NBNI as their star performers, twins Issac and Jacob Clark, ran the open 800 – and several others with sub-7:50 bests.

Meanwhile, Neenah does not have a big clocking yet this year, but the burgeoning distance power returns everyone from a crew that hit a shocking US#5 9:00.52 at their state meet last spring.  That puts them in the role of top US Munro wins the boys 4x400 last year. Photo by John Nepolitan.entry, especially since the top US crews that got under 9:05 indoors are either not in the distance events at all (Davis UT, Garden City NY) or have their teams in the DMR (Warwick Valley NY, Lenape NJ).  Whether any US squad will be able to compete with the top Jamaican schools on the girls’ side is another matter, entirely.  Edwin Allen is going for its third straight win after a 12-second triumph in 2012 at 8:52.97.  They have run 8:54.68 this year and only two U.S. squads have won on the girls’ side since 1986 – Boys & Girls NY in 2002 and Eleanor Roosevelt MD in 2007.

6. Williams, Munro could rule boys sprint relays
In the boys’ 4x100 and 4x400 combined, there’s only been one US winner since 2005 – the Long Beach Poly boys 4x400 in 2007.  That’s not likely to change in 2013, with Jamaican powers Wolmer’s Boys riding a three-year streak in the 4x100 and Munro going for a threepeat in the 4x400.  Munro, actually, has a chance to duplicate the double Wolmer’s got in 2010.  They are the top entry again in the 4x400 with a best of 3:09.21 and in the 4x100 come in with a best of 39.92, just .07 off top entry Kingston College (39.85).  Munro is led by Delano Williams, who could anchor both relays and had a 10.28/20.27 double in the 100/200 at the Jamaican Champs.

The fastest US entries in the 4x400 are Junipero Serra CA, which won Mt. SAC last weekend with 3:15.12, and Knightdale NC, which has a best of 3:15.44.  But don’t sleep on NBNI champ Union Catholic NJ, whose relay triple at NBNI included a 3:16.31 4x400.  Jamaican schools are completely dominant in the 4x100, with seven entries having broken 41.00 this year, while only one US entry (Serra at 40.97) has done so.

7. Previous field event champs look to dominate again
Repeat individual champs at Penn aren’t as rare as you might think and two U.S. athletes and three Jamaicans Braheme Days Jr. will hope to defend his 2012 shot title. Photo by John Nepolitan.have a chance to earn their second watches this weekend.  Of course, shot put giant Nick Vena won four Penn titles from 2008-11 and now Bridgetown NJ senior Braheme Days, Jr. – the 2012 champ with 68-8.5 – can go back-to-back.  That would give the Garden State seven straight wins in the event (Mike Alleman from Scotch Plains Fanwood started it in 2007).  Defending girls javelin champ Christine Streisel (Tamaqua Area PA senior) threw 154-11 to win last year, but will have to overcome a modest start for 2013 (141-4 best) to repeat.  2012 third-place finisher Sarah Firestone PA and sixth-place finisher Megan Glasmann UT are both over 150 already this spring.

Primed to repeat in the boys high jump is Christoffe Bryan, who could become the first multiple HJ champ from Jamaica.  The Wolmer’s Boys star cleared 6-11.5 to win easily in 2012 and since has reached a best of 7-2.5.  Amazingly, he turns just 17 Friday (Apr. 26) and was #2 on the world youth list last year.  Meanwhile, Clive Pullen of Kingston College JAM is looking to accomplish a rare feat – becoming the first boy at Penn to win different field events in consecutive years.  In 2012, Pullen took the long jump at 24-3.  This year, he is the top entry in the triple jump.  At the Jamaican nationals, he boomed a 51-11.25 (+1.2w) to prove he’s at least as good there as he is in the long jump.  And in the girls triple jump, Vere Tech JAM’s Shardia Lawrence was victorious with 40-8.25.  This year, she’s jumped over 42 feet at both her national champs and the Carifta Games.  She may need it to hold off two rising U.S. stars.  Chambersburg PA sr Marshay Ryan leapt out to 41-1.5 earlier this spring, while Mt. Olive NJ jr Keturah Orji is the new NBNI champ after her 41-0.25 there.

 

Christoffe Bryan over the bar during his HJ victory in 2012. Photo by John Nepolitan.

 

8. Duvio goes for pole vault record
Jamaicans are favored to take three of the boys’ jumping events, but a Louisiana standout is the guy to beat in the pole vault.  John Curtis senior Dylan Duvio recently cleared 17-0 at the Mobile Challenge of Champions and is a half-foot or more ahead of top contenders Michael Jensen (defending champ, Appoquinimink DE senior), Tim Moses (Palmyra PA senior) and Craig Hunter (Robbinsville NJ senior).  Jordan Yamoah of Arlington NY set the meet record in 2011 with 16-6.5, while Duvio was fifth as a sophomore and his older brother, Dalton, was second.  Dylan Duvio didn’t vault here last year, but could nab on Saturday the title and record his brother was hoping for two years ago.

9. Jamaicans try to extend discus dominance
There’s been a discus revolution afoot in Jamaica the past few years – most specifically at Calabar HS – netting the country victories and medals both here at Penn and in international competition.  For the boys, Chad Wright of Calabar got it started at Penn with a meet record victory in 2010, then teammate Traves Smikle destroyed that mark in 2011 with a 228-2.  Wright and Smikle were fifth and seventh at the 2010 World Juniors, but since then, Calabar’s newest star Fedrick Dacres has claimed both the 2011 World Youth and 2012 WJ golds.  Dacres was a distant and disappointing third behind winner Sam Mattis last year, but will be the heavy favorite this time around. 

On the girls’ side, Jamaicans have claimed the last three titles, with Edwin Allen’s Danniel Thomas setting a meet record 167-4 last year as the country took the top five spots.  Second- and third-place finishers Gleneve Grange (Holmwood Tech) and Tara-Sue Barnett (Edwin Allen) return, with Cherokee NJ senior Jess Woodard (164-0 last summer) the top US challenger.

10. Little vs. Payne in girls 400H
One state that’s never been represented in the high school portion of the relays has been Illinois, due to IHSA travel restrictions.  Those have changed now, however, and poised to win the first Penn title for the Land of Lincoln is Shamier Little.  The Lindblom (Chicago) senior was the top 400-meter hurdler in the US last year, winning USATF Juniors at 57.44, and a medal threat at the WJ champs before falling in the final.  This will be her first race at the distance since, though she’s already had a fine year in other events indoors and out. 

For a top challenger, though, look no further than the current US#2 at 300H.  Long Beach Poly junior Kymber Payne has been on a rocket ride toward the top over the past month, hitting a PR 42.47 at Arcadia, then a 41.32 at Mt. SAC last weekend, just .01 behind winner Jade Miller.  Payne is a neophyte, though, at the longer distance while Little has raced it many times.  Poly athletes have won individually in the jumps, but this would be the school’s first win at 400H if Payne could pull it off.  Jamaicans have won this event 11 times since 1992, including a meet record Hannah Christen and Sophie Chase in last year's Penn 3k. Photo by John Nepolitan.56.17 by Ristananna Tracey in 2011, but their best finisher last year was a dismal ninth.  But Camira Haughton, with a 58.22 best, will lead their hopes this year.

11. Can Lake Braddock’s duo shine again in the girls’ 3k?
When Lake Braddock VA junior Sophie Chase and her sophomore teammate Hannah Christen finished 1-3 last year in the girls’ 3000 meters, it was an unusual and special thing.  It’s pretty rare for two athletes from the same school to place that high in an individual event at Penn, especially in the distances where the talent is so spread out.  Yet Chase triumphed in 9:37.86 and with her 9:42.97, Christen was just a few hundredths out of second.  But getting 1-3 again or even 1-2 will be no slam dunk for this duo.  Chase continued on for a great spring last year, then was unbeaten in the fall until Foot Locker Finals, where she was sixth.  Then indoors she ran a PR 4:48.68 1600, but suffered an injury that kept her out of nationals.  She’s run fairly well in races the past three weeks, though, giving her a fighting chance. 

Christen went on last spring to hit 10:26.99 for 2M, but hasn’t run as well since – though a near-PR 4:56.15 1600 last weekend indicates she’s close to top form.  Among those challenging the Lake Braddock pair will be Arlington NY soph Bella Burda (US#3 9:33.9 3k indoors), St. Marys WV senior Maggie Drazba (7th last year here, 10:29.60 2M indoors), and Abington Heights PA jr Tessa Barrett (9:47.73 4k, 16:42.99 5k indoors) – among others.



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