Individual stars shine at Penn Relays

Doakes jumps over his competition Can any other track meet in the world can compare to the Penn Relays? Assembled at Franklin Field this weekend to compete were established champions, rising collegiate stars and talented high school athletes. Nowhere else do the past, present and future merge so perfectly to produce as many remarkable performances in a single meet. Excellence at every level seemed to be the theme Saturday at Relays, as new records were set in several events. On the field, the story of the day was the collegiate men's high jump. Ten of the 15 competitors cleared the opening height of 2.10 meters, but after the bar was raised above 2.16, only three remained -- Arkansas' Ray Doakes, Ohio State's Otis Winston and Morgan's State's Antoine Peck. The bar was raised to 2.22 and all three men sailed over it. But when the bar went up to 2.25 meters, nearly seven-and-a-half feet off the ground, each man had to take all three of his attempts. On the final jumps, Doakes, whose personal outdoor best is 7 feet, 6.5 inches, was the only one to clear this height. A new champion was crowned. Even though he was competing with an injured heel, Doakes decided to go for a new Penn Relays record. The bar was raised to 2.28 meters. By this time, the crowd had stopped paying attention to the other events on the track. Everyone was focused on Doakes. Instead of wilting under pressure, Doakes seemed to bask in the crowd's attention. Leading the fans in rhythmic claps, Doakes prepared for his first attempt. He missed, and the crowd groaned. The miss didn't faze Doakes, who urged the crowd on for his second attempt. This time he sailed cleanly over the bar, setting a new Penn Relays record. "Crowd support here is not comparable to other meets," said Doakes. "You just don't get this kind of feeling. Today I felt like this place was home." Although the Arkansas senior was unable to set his new personal best, Doakes expects to clear 7-7 by June. "The heel held me back," Doakes said. "If my heel wasn't hurting, I would have hit my personal best."