Top stars weren't those wearing brand new Nikes

Penn Relays is not about Michael Johnson's new Nikes, despite Nike's opinion during its overblown but well-catered lunch Friday. Nike should have focused more on getting its athletes to work on their handoffs rather than polishing their feet, as slow transitions may have cost the 4x200 team featuring Johnson to miss its much-anticipated world record. Just hours earlier, world champion Marion Jones took off too early and left her Nike teammates with a disqualification for a time in the 4x100 relay. Only the American record set by Jones and her teammates in the 4x200 relay saved the day for the elite athletes. The best performances were in fact turned in by athletes who quietly scripted incredible stories that would have brought a chorus of cheers had they been placed with some fancy music and sappy voice-overs on CBS. Instead, they arrived at Relays, dominated their fields and returned to a much more empty track the following day to continue their training. It is for them that Penn Relays was created -- a large stage in which athletes can share their simple stories of success. · Robert Jordan of Millville High School in New Jersey had a tough act to follow. Last year's high school boys high jump winner was Mark Boswell, who set a Relays record and stunned the crowd by clearing 7'4.5". Jordan didn't match Boswell, but he was awfully close, leaping 7'2.25" to win the competition -- the second best high school mark ever at Relays. The junior who does double duty by playing on his basketball team tried to establish a New Jersey state record by going up and over 7'3.75", but could not find the extra pop. "I'm planning on getting [the record]," Jordan said. "I just have to keep on practicing and keep on working hard and I'll get it sooner or later. The higher they push me the higher I'm gonna have to jump." In a couple years Jordan, who has already received recruiting letters from colleges, may get to push Boswell, who came to Penn Relays this year as a Texas freshman. Boswell cleared the same height, 7'4.5", he did last year to win the college event by 1.25 inches over Gregory Roberts of Morehouse. Boswell has cleared 7'6" this year and finished third at indoor nationals. These two certainly made the east end of the stadium the place to sit. · Larry Colbert, 61, almost didn't make it to the Relays this year. A truck fell on his shoulder a few days earlier while he was changing a tire. But the head coach at local Eleanor Roosevelt High School recovered enough to defend his title in the over-60 running of the 100 meter dash. Colbert is the virtual king of the 60-plus circuit, having won the world championships in South Africa last year and tying the world record in the 400 meter run. Even without his victory, Colbert had plenty of reason to celebrate the weekend. His girls team finished in the top eight out of over 500 teams to reach the Championships of America in the 4x100 meter relay. "I have the Glen Arden Youth Program with 200 some kids," Colbert said. "We're constantly at the track. I'm in it just for the fun of it. Have fun, like I said, meet people, help to stay healthy, but the main purpose is to inspire young people. "My high school kids give me a lot of respect. When I see one of them doing something I know they can do better then I'll just take off my pants and they say 'coach, what are you gonna do?' and I say 'I'm running this one with you.' They say, 'no, no, no coach,' and I say, 'if I beat you, you're gonna do two extra ones,' and boom, they go. "I think I run more than I walk. My legs don't know nothin' but to go fast, even now when I'm walking." · Larry Colbert wasn't the only one struggling to defend his title. The St. Malachy's School of Belfast, Ireland, traveled across the Atlantic to repeat its win in the High School Boys' Distance Medley Relay. After smoothly riding the shoulder of the lead runner, St. Malachy's leadoff runner Joe McAllister broke away from the field on the final lap of his 1,200 meter leg. The rest of the race was an extended victory trot for the green-and-orange-clad team, as they won the race in 10:7.79. Last year Garreth Turnbull needed a superb anchor leg to win the race for St. Malachy's. With Turnbull graduated and entered in the Olympic Development Mile this year, the job of carrying home the victory fell to Colm McLean, last year's leadoff runner. "I started tying up in the last two laps," McLean said. "But I had a big enough lead to do the job.:" "It was an easy decision to make [to come to Penn Relays]. It is a great event. We heard it was one of the best meets in the world and that the competition was hot." Hot also described the weather the team has encountered during its week-long stay. Snow was still on the ground in Ireland when the team headed for Philadelphia. "I know it is cliche, but we find the friendship all the way through," St. Malachy's coach John Mowin said. "The reception we got today was first class." Being back next year may be even easier than Mowin had hoped, as a number of well-wishers offered to host the team during its stay next year. Part of St. Malachy's baggage may even need to stay behind. Last year, the team had tremendous difficulty getting the oversized Penn Relay championship trophy onto the plane home.

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