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Freshman Mike Monroe finished fifth in the high jump at the Penn Relays.

Credit: Thomas Munson

With all due respect to the first two days of Penn Relays competition, Saturday was the day that the track and field world had been waiting for.

And it did not disappoint.

On the final day of the Relays – the largest annual track meet in the world – nearly 50,000 spectators filled Franklin Field to see some of the some track athletes in the world take center stage. The biggest draw of the day was clearly the series of “USA v. the World” sprint relays events on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Olympic stars Justin Gatlin and Wallace Spearmon led the way for the USA men’s teams, all of which saw success on the day. In fact, the US men dominated the international competition, taking first place in the 4x100-meter relay (despite a strong run from Jamaican superstar Asafa Powell), the 4x200m and the 4x400m.

The USA women’s squads were not as dominant, as Jamaica took first place in both the 4x100m and the 4x400m, much to the delight of the large Jamaican contingent that had made the trek to the festivities at Franklin Field.

However, the US women would prove their mettle in perhaps the most exciting race of the afternoon. In a nail-biting finish reminiscent of last year’s 4x100m men’s relay, the USA narrowly beat out Jamaica by a 0.007 second margin at the finish line in the 4x200m relay.

There is no disputing the fact that the international competition was the biggest draw of the afternoon, and, for the most part, it also provided some of the most exciting races. However, Penn track and field was also in action on its home turf.

Following two days of strong performances without any individual victories, the Quakers continued the trend on Saturday.

Junior Sam Mattis came into the day as Penn’s best hope to bring home an individual title, and he performed well, notching a season best toss in the shot put. However, against the Relays’ brutal field of throwers, he was unable to move past fourth position.

The Quakers also had high hopes going into the day for their high jumpers, Mike Monroe and Thomas Pitt. They both came through, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.

Elsewhere, the Red and Blue saw similar success on the track.

In the men’s 4xMile relay, Penn finished sixth overall off the strength of a strong 4:00 leg from junior star Thomas Awad. The race would prove to be one of the most exciting of the day, as Villanova came from behind to shock defending champion Oregon.

Meanwhile, Penn finished fifth in the women’s 4x800m relay, coming hundredths of a second away from breaking the school record for the event in the process.

In total, more than 110,000 fans attended the Relays over the weekend, making it the twelfth consecutive year more than 100,000 spectators have attended the event.

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