High school athletes embody Relays spirit

Angela Renner, a senior at Quakertown High School, knew what she had to do while at the Penn Relays. "Do good, run fast, go home," she said. "And eat some cheesesteaks." Renner and her Quakertown teammates are among one of the less-noticed group of athletes at the Penn Relays -- the high school competitors. Out of the limelight of the Olympic Development and Championship of America races, most of the high school students were just here to have fun. "It's been such a rush," Episcopal (Va.) senior Carl Robbins said. "It was awesome." Robbins was asked to fill in for a teammate in the 4x400 meter relay the day before the team left for Philadelphia. A spectator at the Relays for three years, the senior had never run a 400-meter race before. "When you compete you're part of the action," Robbins said. "Competing, having all these people watching you and cheering for you is just awesome." Like their older counterparts, the high schoolers have to meet tough qualifying standards to compete at the Penn Relays. "It's something to look forward to," Centereach (N.Y.) senior Kelly Cuomo said. "It's the closest we'll ever get to the Olympics." Once they arrive at Penn Relays, many high school athletes would just be happy to have the experience of running in front of the packed Franklin Field grandstand -- as long as they don't finish last. However, the crowds sometimes proved unnerving. Guy Ramos, a senior at Archbishop Molloy (N.Y.), fell while running the anchor leg of the 4x100 relay the day before. While his teammates seemed confident, Ramos confessed to being nervous before his race. On the other end of the competitive spectrum are the Jamaicans. Athletes from 15 different Jamaican high schools -- many of which specialize in sports training -- were scheduled to attend the Relays this year. Despite a significant presence in the crowd, they were not as overwhelming as usual in the sprint relay events. The girls' 4x400 Championship of America relay was won by William Penn of Philadelphia. The William Penn girls narrowly edged out St. Jago (Hayes, Jamaica) by .009 second, finishing in 3:44.81. As expected, the top qualifier in the 4x400 Championship of America event was Pasadena's John Muir (Ca.) High School with a time of 3:13.70. Muir demolished its competition in the final, topping the second-place St. Jago squad by almost four seconds. Obea Moore, the Muir anchor runner, covered 400 meters in 46.0 seconds. Only a junior, he has already qualified for the Olympic time trials. Renner and the Quakertown 4x400 team were not as successful, finishing ninth in their heat. But they were just here to have fun. And that's what the Penn Relay Carnival is supposed to be about.

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