2014 Penn Relays day-by-day highlights

Saturday

Chaminade NY got a US#1 in the boys 4x800 relay, running 7:39.44 for second place. Anchor Sean Kelly split 1:52.24 to lead the team. Jamaica's Calabar ran 7:37.36 for the win. Meanwhile, Blacksburg VA, with Kenneth Hagen on anchor, ran 7:42.83 for fourth.

KIM SPIR PHOTOS

* TC Williams VA placed fifth -- fastest among the American high school schools -- in 3:18.19 in the 4x400. Most of the top teams ran faster in the morning heats. TC Williams ran 3:15.45 to qualify for the finals. TC Williams was also the strongest US team in the boys 4x100, but was seventh behind six Jamaican schools.

* Rai Benjamin of Mt Vernon NY ran US#1 52.72 in the 400 hurdles.

* Dashawn Taylor of Longwood NY jumped 23-6.25w to win the long jump.

Friday

Olivia Baker split 2:02.55 to lead Columbia Maplewood NJ to victory in the championship 4x800. It was the second straight win in this event for Columbia and the time of 8:45.37 is US#2 all-time. 

Baker took the baton 4-5 seconds  behind the leader, in third, and thought of a motto to get her through it: "Never did in a race if you're looking at someone's back."

Baker gave everything she had and ran more than seven seconds faster than she's ever run 800 meters before. 

"It does put some things into perspective," Baker said. "My coach (Lisa Morgan) has been training me for this. She's always told me she thought I was capable of a 2:02 or lower in the right circumstances."

It was a group effort. Aigner Bobbitt started it off with 2:17.21 and then passed to Imani Coleman, who ran a great 2:11.82. Third for Columbia was Emilie Cowan, who ran 2:13,80. 

It was possibly a watershed moment, though, for Baker. She'll have to decide soon whether she wants to go after championship titles in the 400, or move into the realm of fellow New Jersey star Ajee Wilson and see what she can do in the 800.

Those decisions will wait until Monday's practice. For the meantime, Baker was content to enjoy a second straight Penn Relays wheel, No. 2 all-time. She also had an eye on Saturday's Tri-State 4x100, her last race of the weekend.

"I just thank God for the opportunity and that we were able to go out and execute our race and get another wheel," she said. 

Baker, we knew about. But at the end of the day, Andrew Hunter of Loudoun Valley, Va. introduced himelf to the national stage with a 8:16.31 victory in the 3,000 meters. That's a sophomore class national record and it comes from someone who finished 16th at the Foot Locker South Regional last fall. Hunter comes from strong genes. His father, Marc Hunter, was a standout in high school and placed fourth at the 1977 NCAA Cross Country Championships (ahead of Alberto Salazar, ie). 

Further, it was a day when Jamaican schools continued to demonstrate their might in the shorter relays, Long Beach Poly CA managed fourth in 45.63 in the 4x100 relay. And in the 4x400, where Edwin Allen JAM almost broke the Penn Relays record with 3:34.76, it was Columbia (3:45.27) and LB Poly (3:45.90) placing fifth and sixth.

Sean Kelly of Chaminade NY split 1:53.33 to lead his team into the championship race as the team ran 7:44.20. South Brunswick NJ also posted a strong time with 7:44.46, with Nick Neville on anchor in 1:54.33. 

Matthew Zajac VA scored a US#1 in the discus with a toss of 200-9. Another big throw came from Benjamin Bonhurst NY, who won the shot put with 63-5.

Thursday

Debalsi, Paladino, W. Springfield VA get big wins

 
The girls took center stage stage at Franklin Field in blustery, sometimes very windy conditions.

Hannah DeBalsi, super sophomore from Staples CT, was the class of the field in the 3,000 meters in 9:34.57. Unfortunately, she didn't get the matchup with Tessa Barrett, the Foot Locker champion from Abington Heights PA, who withdrew because of a family matter. Three seconds back, Hannah Christen VA, Regan Rome PA and Paige Stoner PA battled for second and finished within a quarter of a second.

In the mile, West Virginia's Amelia Paladino (University) was the strongest and charged down the final straight to take the win in 4:45.34. That's an all-time state best for Paladino and US#2 so far this season. Ellie Gonazlez from Maryland (Catholic) was second in 4:47.26, good for US#3. That's also a Marylynad all-time state best, unseating Lauren Centrowitz (2004).

In the championship DMR, Carolina Alcorta split 4:46.46 to lead West Springfield VA to the victory in a US#1 time of 11:53.07. West Springfield won the event by more than nine seconds.

Long Beach Poly CA, a consistent presence at Penn Relays and usually America's best hope for relay success against the top Jamaican schools, advanced to Saturday's finals in the 4x100 (46.50) and 4x400 (3:45.20). Columbia NJ also ran a strong time in the 4x400 with Olivia Baker on anchor, 3:45.74. The top two teams in the 4x1 and the top four in the 4x4 were Jamaican.

Great Valley PA (9:11.26), Central Bucks South (9:12.57), Columbia NJ (9:12.71) and Blacksburg VA (9:14.03) posted the US#4, 5, 6 7 times in the 4x800.

In field events, Keturah Orji NJ won the triple jump with a windy 43-10.50. Javonne Antoine MD jumped 41-7.75, also wind-aided. Kayla Richardson of Columbia NJ jumped US#4 20-2.25 to place second in the long jump.

Shelby Freedman PA won the javelin with US#14 143-4. Kailyn Clancy PA won the shot put with 45-3.50. Cyre Virgo PA placed second and was the top American in the high jump with 5-8.75. Taylor Hojnacki PA placed third in the discus with 146-7.