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BOYS RELAY QUALIFYING/FINALS: A fine day for T.C. Williams; Calabar gets its double

• US#1 3:12.17 4x400m for the T.C. Williams, VA team of Mahlique Booth (50.22), Noah Lyles (45.60), Tre’Kel Lockett (50.65) and Josephus Lyles (45.71), winning Race #441 and qualifying first overall for the Championship of America.  It is believed to be only the 2nd time in prep history that a 4x4 team has had two legs under 46 seconds, with the other being in 1997 when John Muir HS, CA set the Penn record of 3:08.72 with Sultan McCullough (45.8) and Obea Moore (45.1).  The 2nd- and 3rd-place finishers in this heat, St. Elizabeth Tech, JAM and Jamaica College, JAM qualified 2nd/3rd overall with 3:13.46 and 3:13.98.  The only other U.S. team to qualify for the COA was NBNI champ Cheltenham, PA, which won Race #350 at 3:15.86 for 6th overall.  Other qualifiers were top-seeded Calabar JAM at 3:15.46, Kingston College JAM at 3:15.86, Excelsior JAM at 3:17.16 and Petersfield JAM at 3:17.19.  Defending champ St. Jago, JAM was the 1st team out at 3:17.42, with Union Catholic, NJ at 3:17.57 (Taylor McLaughlin 46.80 2nd leg) and Bowie, MD at 3:17.65 also just missing.
• Penn Relays record 39.63 4x100m Championship of America by the top-seeded Calabar, JAM team of Zandre Blake, Michael O’Hara, Jullanie Walker and Seanie Selvin, moving up a spot from 2014 when they were 2nd at 39.85 behind Jamaica College’s 39.72 previous Penn record.  They were followed by St. Jago, JAM with 39.89 and St. George’s, JAM at 40.17.  In 4th with a US#5 40.84 was the T.C. Williams, VA team of Tre’Kel Lockett, Noah Lyles, Mahlique Booth and Josephus Lyles – winning gold watches as the leading U.S. team.  DeMatha Catholic, MD was 6th with 41.17.  Calabar, which last triumphed in 2008 and ’09, is now a 6-time champ of this event.
• 7:38.38 4x800m Championship of America by the St. Elizabeth Tech, JAM team of Romario Guthrie (1:56.86), Paul Tate (1:52.84), Shemar Salmon (1:56.51) and Jauavney James (1:52.18) – just nipping Kingston College, JAM at 7:38.54 in one of the event’s closest finishes at Penn.  In 3rd, winning gold watches as the top U.S. team, was the Nordhoff, CA quartet of Varian Wilson (1:58.04), Elijah Balderas (1:57.50), Landis Meyer (1:55.42) and Cameron Kunde (1:52.98) at US#2 7:43.03.  Also finishing under 7:50 were Pennsbury PA at US#5 7:45.42, River Dell Regional NJ at US#6 7:46.86, Arlington NY at US#10 7:49.24 and Central Bucks West PA at 7:49.94.  James Asselmeyer of Arlington and Alek Sauer of Pennsbury had the race’s fastest legs at 1:51.68 and 1:51.98, respectively.  St. Elizabeth Tech now has a meet-best 7 titles in their event, but it was their 1st win since 1996.
• 3:09.97 4x400m Championship of America by the top-seeded Calabar, JAM team of Anthony Carpenter (50.4), Aykeeme Francis (46.3), Renado Wilson (46.57) and Michael O'Hara (46.68), completing their 4x1/4x4 double.  O’Hara anchored both victories for Calabar.  They were followed by Jamaica College, JAM with 3:11.23 and St. Elizabeth Tech, JAM at 3:12.71.  Leading qualifier to the final T.C. Williams, VA was 4th at 3:13.97, winning Penn gold watches as well, with the team of Mahlique Booth (50.1), Noah Lyles (45.4), Thomas Huston (52.28) and Josephus Lyles (46.22).  As they did in qualifying, the Lyles brothers had the two fastest legs of the race.  NBNI champ Cheltenham, PA was 5th with a 3:15.39.  Calabar won for the 2nd time in 3 years. now tied for the most Penn 4x4 titles with 7, and also improved its number of COAs in any relay to 15 – the third-best total.
• 41.26 4x100m Large School championship by the Bowie, MD quartet of Tajh Gilchrist, Antonio Coleman, Maxwell Willis and Jonathan George.  They were followed by Cheltenham, PA at 41.44 and Wolmer’s Boys, JAM at 41.56.  Cheltenham had just missed making the COA in qualifying with 9th overall, while Bowie had been 14th.  The Small School championship went to the Tabernacle, JAM team of Johnathan Smith, Javon Martin, Ken Russell and Holland Martin at 41.36, ahead of Munro College, JAM at 41.56.

BOYS’ JUMPS FINALS: Upset win for Lewis; Brown adds HJ to TJ title

• 50-5.25(+1.3w) triple jump by Odaine Lewis (Cornwall College, JAM), getting a surprising win over favored Obrien Wasome (Jamaica College, JAM) at 50-1.75(+1.0w).  Wasome, 3rd in the LJ in 2014, was a big favorite to win and finally take down Sanya Owolabi’s 1978 meet record of 52-2.75 after he leapt 52-10.75 and 53-3.5w this year.  Lewis, the 1st Cornwall College athlete to win an event at Penn, didn’t take the lead from Wasome until his 5th attempt.  Jordan Scott (Campion, JAM) was 3rd at 49-10(+0.4w), despite 4 fouls.  Jared Lovelace (Archbishop Molloy, NY), a 50-footer indoors and 3rd at NBNI, was just 6th with 47-6.5w(+2.2).
• 6-10.25 high jump by Clayton Brown (Jamaica College, JAM), with Wilson Lushane (St. Jago, JAM) and Bradley Jones (Oscar F. Smith, VA senior) tied for 2nd at 6-9.  Brown had a clean record through 6-10.25, then missed 3 times at 6-11.5.  He was also the 2014 Penn triple jump champ.  Jamaican athletes have won the past five boys’ HJs here, and 7 of the past 8, but it’s the first Penn HJ win for a Jamaica College athlete.
• 24-5.5w(+2.8) long jump by Jullanie Walker, who with teammate Travis Riley at 24-1(+1.3w) gave Calabar, JAM a 1-2 finish in the event.  They were followed by Alrick Ottey (Cornwall College, JAM) at 23-6(+1.0w) and Quamel Sessoms (I.C. Norcom, VA) at 23-1.75w(+2.3) – the first U.S. prep finisher.  Walker, whose 2nd-best jump was a wind-legal 23-9(-0.3w), also ran on Calabar’s 4x100 champs.
• 15-9 pole vault by Ryan Herrera-Murphy (Iona Prep, NY), prevailing on misses over Calvin Pitney (Glenelg, MD), also at 15-9.  Stefano Pineda (Wilmington Charter, DE) was 3rd at 15-5. 
• Herrera-Murphy had a clean record through 15-5 and made 15-9 on his 2nd attempt to Pineda’s 3rd-attempt clearance.  Top seeds Ryan Wilkes (Valley View, PA) and Derek Dibona (Warwick Valley, NY), 4th and 5th at NBNI, were 5th and 8th.

INDIVIDUAL TRACK FINALS: Reich walks another fast time; Williams edges Benjamin in 400H

• US#1 23:31.20 girls’ 5,000m racewalk (#2 all-time) by Ashleigh Resch (Beavercreek, OH senior), finishing 2nd in the Junior Women’s event to Puerto Rico’s Rachelle DeOrbeta at 23:00.84.  Resch, the NBNI 1M champ and national record setter, walked 66 seconds faster than when she won this event in 2014.  Anali Cisneros (Elgin Sharks/Elgin, IL junior) was the next U.S. prep finisher in the event at 4th with US#4 24:37.  In the concurrent High School Girls 5,000m racewalk, Katharine Newhoff (East Islip, NY senior)) beat Meaghan Podlaski (Colonie, NY senior), US#2 24:14.56 to US#3 24:22.93.
• 51.10 boys’ 400m hurdles by Marvin Williams (St. Elizabeth Tech, JAM), just holding off Rai Benjamin (Mt. Vernon, NY senior) at US#1 51.29.  They were followed by John Lewis (Cheltenham, PA senior) at US#2 52.46, Dave Marrington (Neshaminy, PA) at US#3 52.92, Orlando Smith (Kingston College, JAM) at 53.13 and Infinite Tucker (Huntington, NY) at US#4 53.24.  Williams and Benjamin, who became #4 and #6 in meet history, were 2-3 in last year’s Penn 400H behind Jaheel Hyde. 
• US#2 50:07.18 boys’10,000m racewalk for Matias Serna (South Texas Walking Club/San Juan, TX junior), taking 4th and the top U.S. prep finisher in a field that included collegian Anthony Peters (St. Ambrose frosh) in 1st at 44:14.62.  Peters was the 2014 NBNI 1M champ and represented Team USA in the 2014 World Juniors.

OTHER RELAY FINALS: Blazing marks for Cheltenham, Neumann-Goretti girls

• 46.60 event record Tri-State 4x100m by the Cheltenham, PA team of Ciara Leonard, Janiel Slowly, Alexis Crosby and Chanel Brissett.  The previous event record was 46.97 by Swenson Arts, PA in 2013.  After missing the COA in qualifying Thursday with a 48.10 (9th overall), and taking 2nd in Friday’s Small Schools final in 47.21, Cheltenham ran the fastest girls’ 4x1 of any school at Penn – beating even the 46.66 by Long Beach Poly, CA as the top U.S. finisher in the COA.  Pennsbury, PA was 2nd in 46.96, the 3rd-best U.S. girls’ 4x1 of the meet.
• 3:47.39 Philadelphia Area 4x400m by the Neumann-Goretti, PA squad of Amira Coleman (57.75), Eliza Brooks (57.56), Arianna Ruffin (56.79) and Sydni Townsend (55.30).  They were closely followed by Cheltenham, PA at 3:47.67.  Cheltenham was just 16th and Neumann-Goretti 27th in qualifying for the COA, but wound up with the 3rd- and 4th-fastest U.S. girls’ 4x4 times of the meet.  The Philadelphia Area boys’ 4x400m went to the Penn Wood, PA team of Ahmere Ponzo (51.66), Charlie Wells (49.77), Dennis Manyeah (50.66) and Ndiaga Black-Seck (47.49) at 3:19.58.