Angelina Perez, Juliette Whittaker, Saratoga Springs NY Girls Among Early Winners At Penn Relays

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Seniors Angelina Perez and Juliette Whittaker waited three years for the chance to shine at Penn Relays and took advantage of the opportunity Thursday as the world's largest track and field meet roared back to life at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. 

Perez of Lakeland Regional NJ won the girls 3,000 meters in a personal-best 9:18.11, which is a New Jersey all-time best for an outdoor 3,000. The previous best, by Jodie Bilotta of North Hunterdon, was 9:37.1 and was set in 1987. Perez was less than three seconds from the Penn Relays record set by Cathy Schiro in 1985.

Perez's time is also No. 19 all-time and a US#1 for 2022.

Karrie Baloga from Cornwall NY was second in 9:31.88.

Whittaker, from Mount de Sales MD, won the mile championship in 4:41.18. Hannah Boyle of Cicero-North Syracuse was second in 4:46.50 and Mia Cochran from Moon Area PA was third with 4:47.17.

Saratoga Springs won its third girls Distance Medley Relay Championshio of America title with a US#1 time of 11:43.26, using a lineup of Ella Kurto, Alycia Hart, Mackenzie Hart and Emily Bush. 

The same quartet ran 11:44.34 a month ago to win the DMR title Nike Indoor Nationals. 

PHOTOS by John Nepolitan 

Houston's Quivell Jordan won the college men's 400-meter hurdles in 49.63.

Jessica Wright of Howard won the women's 400-meter hurdles in 57.33 seconds. 

Sarah Hendrick from Kennesaw State won the college women's 1,500 meters in 4:16.68. 

A slow start to the men's 1,500 meters resulted in a winning time of 3:46.01 for Providence's AJ Ernst.

BYU's Lexy Halladay won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:59.27. Marshall Williamson from North Carolina won the men's steeplechase in 8:47.53.

Tennessee's Sydney Seymour moved to No. 9 in the country in the women's 5,000 meters with her winning time of 15:36.00. 

Yaseen Abdalla of Texas won the men's 5,000 in 13:47.05.

The 10,000 meters races closed out Thursday's action on the track. Grace Forbes of Rice led wire to wire in the women's race and ran 32:59.15, which is the No. 3 time in the NCAA so far this spring. 

Evan Brennan of Stony Brook won the men's 10,000 race in 28:59.64.

Cedricka Williams from Jamaica's Holmwood Tech won the girls discus with 177-2, coming up just two feet short of the meet record. 

Trinity Franklin from the Bullis School MD, the New Balance Nationals Indoor champion, won the girls shot put with 48-2.50. 

Avery Lewis from Friends Central PA won the girls long jump with 19-10.25w.

In the women's college hammer throw, Jillian Shippee of North Carolina won with 228-10. She had a margin of four inches over Auburn's Madi Malone. 

Penn State's Tyler Merkley threw 226-9 to take the men's college hammer.