PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, April 25–27 — In a span of 80 minutes, the HSRs in the girls 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 were toppled on a remarkable Friday evening at the Penn Relays.
In the 4 x 400, Bullis (Potomac, Maryland) had already lowered the 20-year-old prep standard on March 30, clocking 3:35.23. In Philly, the quartet was looking to end Jamaican domination on the event, with the last American win having come back in ’08. And while Bullis couldn’t quite get past the team from Hydel (3:34.78), its quartet did slice a bit more off its High School Record, finishing 2nd in 3:35.17 with a lineup of Tatum Lynn (55.6), Sydney Sutton (52.5), Kennedy Brown (53.46) and Morgan Rothwell (53.60).
“It’s rare that someone breaks a national record and we still look a little bit disappointed,” Rothwell said. “But that just shows how hungry we are.”
There was no disappointment for Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, New Jersey) in the 4 x 800, where Jimmiea King (2:11.76), Peyton Hollis (2:11.57), Sophia Thompson (2:10.02) and Paige Sheppard (2:07.86) went wire to wire en route to an 8:41.20 win. That took down the High School Record of 8:43.12, set by Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Maryland) at Penn’s ’08 edition.
On the boys’ side, Quincy Wilson of Bullis pulled heroic anchor duty in both the prelims and final of the 4×4. In the Saturday morning heats, Alexander Lambert went down in traffic on the first leg, leaving the rest of the team to play catch-up from 11th place. Wilson got the baton in 6th, more than 3 seconds off the lead. Running much of his leg in lane 2, the 16-year-old soph somehow managed to catch the leaders with a monster 44.37 split, finishing off a 3:14.84 win.
“The 44 wasn’t about me, it was about my teammates and bringing them together,” Wilson said. “I knew I wanted to see us go to the next round, so I knew I had to give it everything I got.”
Six hours later in the final, more bad luck struck the team, this time at the second exchange, where a pile-up sent third leg Cameron Horner to the ground. He scrambled to make up ground, but Wilson still faced another 3-plus-second deficit at the final handoff. Again he went to work, running wide with his trademark head back and wide arm swing, though this time he couldn’t catch the top two teams, both Jamaican. Still, Wilson produced a sensational 44.69 carry and the team took 3rd in 3:13.10.
Meet records fell in both pole vaults, with Victor Olesen (St. Christopher’s, Richmond, Virginia) going over 17-¼ and Veronica Vacca (Mt. St. Joseph, Flourtown, Pennsylvania) clearing 14-3 after needing three attempts at 12-3¼.
PENN RELAYS HS RESULTS
Boys Events
Mile: 1. Drew Griffith (Butler) 4:03.35; 2. Ryan Pajak (Ringgold, Monongahela) 4:10.28.
3000: 1. *Ty Steorts (Hurricane, WV) 8:24.77.
5000W: 1. Rowan McDonald (Me) 23:58.66 PR.
4 x 100: 1. Excelsior (Jam) 40.45; 2. Kingston College (Jam) 40.53; 3. Morrison (Jam) 40.56; 4. Carroll, Washington, DC 40.68.
4 x 400: 1. Kingston College 3:11.86; 2. Excelsior 3:12.94; 3. Bullis, Potomac, Md 3:13.10 (Wilson 44.69). Heats: XXXI-1. Bullis 3:14.84 (Wilson 44.37—fastest-ever HS-only split).
4 x 800: 1. Jamaica College (Jam) 7:42.37; 2. St. John’s, Washington, DC 7:44.46.
DisMed: 1. Christian Brothers, Lincroft, NJ 10:01.47; 2. Westfield, NJ 10:03.62.
HJ: 1. Khalil Antoine (Hillhouse, New Haven, Ct) 7-¼.
PV: 1. **Victor Oleson (St Christopher’s, Richmond, Va) 17-¼.
LJ: 1. Balvin Israel’ (Jam) 23-9.
TJ: 1. Chavez Penn’ (Jam) 50-5½.
SP: 1. Shaiquan Dunn’ (Jam) 68-¼; 2. Joshua Huisman (St Rose, Belmar, NJ) 64-8½.
DT: 1. Chad Hendricks’ (Jam) 217-1; 2. *Benjamin Shue (Bergen, Oradell, NJ) 201-11.
JT: 1. Bronson Krainak (Danville, Pa) 208-10.
Girls Events
Mile: 1. Dylan McElhinney (Hunter, NYC, NY) 4:40.82; 2. Reese Dalton (Covenant, Charlottesville) 4:40.95.
3000: 1. Addy Ritzenhein (Niwot, Co) 9:17.81; 2. Zariel Macchia (Floyd, Mastic Beach, NY) 9:31.64.
5000W: 1. Gianna Mauri (Sachem East, NY) 26:06.62.
4 x 100: 1. Hydel (Jam) 44.71; 2. Allen (Jam) 44.96, 3. St. Jago (Jam) 45.14, 4. Carroll 45.15.
4 x 400: 1. Hydel 3:34.78;
2. Bullis (Potomac, Md) 3:35.17 HSR (old HSR 3:35.23 Bullis ’24) (Lynn 55.6, Sutton 52.5, Brown 53.45, Rothwell 53.60);
3. Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, NJ) 3:41.75; 4. Allen 3:43.62; 5. St. Elizabeth (Jam) 3:45.06.
4 x 800: 1. Union Catholic 8:41.20 HSR (old HSR 8:43.12, Roosevelt, Greenbelt, Md ’08) (King 2:11.76, Hollis 2:11.57, Thompson 2:10.02, Sheppard 2:07.86);
2. Allen 8:50.76; 3. South Lakes (Reston, Va) 8:50.89.
DMR: 1. Saratoga Springs, NY 11:36.45 (Bush 4:44.85); 2. Tatnall (Wilmington, De) 11:40.72.
HJ: 1. Shaniqua Williams’ (Jam) 5-8.
PV: 1. Veronica Vacca (Mt. St. Joseph, Flourtown) 13-3.
LJ: 1. Avery Lewis (Friends’ Central, Wynnewood) 19-8¾.
TJ: 1. Jade-Ann Dawkins’ (Jam) 42-8¼;… 5. Corintia Griffith (Webster Schroeder, Webster, NY) 41-2¼.
SP: 1. Jessica Oji (Livingston, NJ) 46-4.
DT: 1. Layla Giordano (Old Tappan, NJ) 167-10.
JT: 1. Taysha Stubbs’ (Bah) 154-9; 2. Sophia Scott (Burke, Omaha) 146-11.