NSAF On-Site at Penn Relays: Friday Preview

by Steve Underwood


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GIRLS RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS:  St. Jago 4x4, Western Branch 4x8, Edwin Allen 4x1 qualify best

In the 4x400 qualifying Thursday, St. Jago looked the best of the Jamaican “big three” – teams who ran 3:35-36 at the Jamaican Champs.  They led all qualifiers at 3:46.54 in winning Race #142.  Of the other two, Vere Tech also qualified solidly with a winning 3:50.65 in Race #143, but St. Elizabeth Tech did not make it.  St. Jago, then, is the clear favorite for Friday’s Championship of America – but whether Vere Tech will return to that high level is yet to be seen.  While a win would be tough, a top-2 or -3 finish is within the grasp of the top three qualifying U.S. teams – Columbia, NJ at 3:49.64; Nansemond River, VA at 3:50.69; and Western Branch, VA at 3:51.50.  The latter two have each run 3:45 in 2015, either indoors or out.

Speaking of Western Branch, they have emerged as possibly the team to beat in the girls’ 4x800 Championship of America – and could become the first Virginia team to take that event.  They were NBNI champs at 9:02.27 and looked solid in Thursday qualifying, leading the way at 9:09.43.  If they can get a little more consistency in their splits, they could take it.  Holmwood Tech was the top Jamaican entry at 8:54.42, but only qualified 6th yesterday.  Vere Tech, JAM, meanwhile, qualified 2nd overall with 9:10.31.  At this point, it’s hard to imagine any team besides those ones taking it.  A Western Branch win would make three straight for U.S. teams for the first time since the 1980s.

In the 4x100, defending champ Edwin Allen, JAM was thought to be at a bit of a disadvantage this year with some newcomers, but they had the best qualifier Thursday with a 46.26 – a whopping .76 better than Jamaican Champs winner St. Jago from the previous heat at 47.02.  Expect those two to battle it out for the title.  Long Beach Poly, CA – the 2011 and 2012 winners of the 4x100 – also graduated a major force with Ariana Washington now at the collegiate level.  Still, they qualified 3rd at 47.23 – trailing Edwin Allen in that heat – and should get at least 3rd or 4th again.  Also watch out for #3 qualifier Holmwood Tech, JAM, which last won in 2013.


BOYS TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS: Osberg could supplant Hunter at 3k; mile and DMR pretty wide-open

It’s pretty rare for a defending champ to come back to Penn and do something else besides try and defend his crown, but that’s exactly the case with Andrew Hunter.  The Loudoun Valley, VA junior shocked the track world last April by taking the 3k in a soph class nat’l record 8:16.31.  He’s continued to have great success – last month taking a super thrilling NBNI 2-mile (8:48.22)  – but here this weekend he’s dropping down to tackle the mile.  That leaves another great runner as the big favorite – Alex Ostberg (Darien, CT senior).  Ostberg was 3rd here last year in 8:20.14, part of a spring that finished with an NBNO 5k title.  He was a razor close 3rd in that NBNI deuce (8:48.48) behind Hunter and should handle the field here.  The toughest competition should come from Aidan Tooker (Saratoga Springs, NY junior), who was 4th at NBNO in 8:56.16, or Ostberg’s teammate Armstrong Noonan.

The boys’ mile, like the girls’ race Thursday, is a pretty wide-open affair.  That’s partly due to the fact that would-be favorite James Burke (Port Jefferson, NY senior) – the NBNI runner-up and Millrose Mile champ indoors – is coming off a very off-form effort at the New York Relays.  Otherwise, he’s killed it all year and has a 4:08.48 best.  This race also has defending champ Luke Gavigan in the field, but since the Tappan Zee, NY senior won last year with 4:13.35 he has been wildly inconsistent and it would be a stunner if he can come back and repeat.  Also in the field are NBNI 3-4-6 finishers Sam Ritz (Germantown Acad, PA), Matthew Novak (Deep Run, VA) and Jeremy Spiezio (Greenwich, NY) – with Ritz and Spiezio having run 4:08-09 this year.  2014 NBNO 2-mile champ Mike Brannigan (Northport, NY) and Philip Hall (South View, NC) are also capable.  The aforementioned Hunter could be another contender, but he’ll likely need a breakthrough to deal with this sub-4:10 talent.

That brings us to the distance medley relay, which also has that wide-open feel.  Fordham Prep, NY deserves the favorite’s role, it must be said – they were 4th at NBNI with a strong 10:07.27, six seconds faster than anyone else in the field, and have a strong anchor in Conor Lundy.  But another half-dozen schools are in the 10:13 to 10:18 range and, depending who has the best late-April form, any of those could take it (the girls’ DMR showed as much Thursday).  The next fastest entry is Lake Braddock, VA at 10:13.31 – also significant because it’s a more recent outdoor mark.  But also watch for La Salle Academy, RI, which has the fastest anchor of all with Jack Salisbury (4:08) and lots of distance depth.


BOYS THROWS FINALS:  Shot looks like NBNI rematch; Solfanelli looks for strong JT debut

The boys’ shot should be a battle between a great trio of throwers who went 2-3-4 at NBNI behind champ Willie Morrison.  Eric Favors (North Rockland, NY senior) hasn’t lost to anyone but Morrison this year and brings a 66-1 PR in after taking 9th last year.  Similarly, Rashad Manning (Riverdale Baptist, MD senior) was 10th here in 2014, but now has a 63-11 PR and is coming off a 3rd at NBNI.  Then there’s soph sensation Jordan Geist (Knoch, PA), who was 4th at NBNI, but has three meets at 65-10 or better – including a 66-1.5 outdoor PR just last week.  He could give the home state its first win here in the SP since 2004.

In the boys’ javelin, the only thrower beyond 220 feet is defending champ Denzel Pratt, who won the first Penn gold for a non-U.S./Canada thrower in the event in 2014 with his final attempt 220-7.  A group of 200-plus guys, though – including experienced standouts and rising stars – will challenge him.  Nick Solfanelli (Scranton Prep, PA sr) hasn’t competed since he won the Chicagoland Throws jav last June with his PR 215-8, but he’s the #2 guy in the field.  His big breakthrough in ’14 came with his runner-up finish at NBNO.  Ditto for John Putnam (Massapequa, NY senior), who was 4th at NBNO with his 206-8 PR and his coming off a win at the New York Relays.  Also watch for the PA trio of Derek Zigenfuss (Parkland senior), Evan Sing (Penncrest senior), and Michael Biddle (Williamsburg senior) – all new members of the 200-foot club in the past month with bests of 204-2, 202-4 and 200-6, respectively.

In the discus, David Lucas (Warwick, PA senior) was 4th last year and, with a new PR last month of 190-6, looks like the guy to beat.  He was state AAA runner-up last May.  Challenging him, and trying to become the first Penn throws champ from Ohio, is Trevor Detillion (Unioto senior).  He hit 189-4 to win the Mansfield Relays and has been consistent in the 180s.  He was 6th at NBNO last year.  On the other hand, Jamaican throwers have taken 3 of the past 5 discus titles here, with the record-breaking efforts of Travis Smikle and Fedrick Darces.  Kino Dunkley (Munro College, JAM) was 6th last year and has a shot to move up and join that duo.


BOYS RELAY QUALIFYING:  Calabar goes for it without Hyde

2014 runner-up Calabar, JAM leads all 4x100 qualifiers with a 39.08 from the Jamaican Champs, the best entry mark ever for this meet.  But one of their quartet’s finest, Michael O’Hara, was banned earlier this month from the HS portion of the Relays after signing a promotional contract.  Whether or not that will drop them back to the pack remains to be seen.  Defending champ Jamaica College set the meet record last year at 39.72 and has hit 39.79 this year, while St. Jago, JAM is also under 40 at 39.80.  Some have wondered whether Jamaican schools can take all 8 spots for the COA, but it’s likely 1-2 U.S. schools will make it in.  St. John’s College, DC recently ran 41.69.  Other U.S. .contenders to make the final are 2014 qualifiers T.C. Williams VA (with the Lyles brothers) and Long Beach Poly CA, DeMatha Catholic MD with 2014 NBNO 100 champ Darryl Haraway, and schools with strong 4x200 marks from indoor season like Cheltenham PA, CH Flowers MD and others.

The 4x800 features two Jamaican schools under 7:35 this year: 2014 3rd-place finisher Kingston College at 7:33.87 and St. Elizabeth Tech at 7:34.78.  Holmwood Tech and Edwin Allen have also goine 7:39.44 and 7:41.09 from Jamaica.  There are several U.S. schools which have gone sub-7:50 and will hope that the cool, windy forecast is a bit of an equalizer.  The U.S. entry with the best outdoor mark is Memphis U. from Tennessee, which features 1:50 talent in Carlton Orange and Terrell Jackson and has run 7:45.21.  Nordhoff, CA has also made waves with a burst on the national scene this year that includes an Arcadia Invite win in 7:47.50.  From the indoor season, NBNI 3-4-5 finishers Amherst-Pelham MA at 7:45.29, Arlington NY at 7:45.95 and Syosset NY at 7:46.34 are all contenders to at least make the final.

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