Relays feature local, international flavor

Fans and athletes came from as far away as Jamaica and southern California, and from as near as West Catholic High School at 45th and Chestnut Streets. Once again, they all enjoyed the usual array of great food and high-quality relay races at the Penn Relays -- the oldest and largest annual track and field meet in the world.

To the more than 108,000 fans who came to Franklin Field over the three days of this year's Penn Relays Carnival, nothing could stop the 111th edition from being just as successful as all the other previous ones.

The near-constant threat of rain did not matter, especially because it stayed away for all of Thursday and most of Friday. Nor did the lack of Olympic competition this summer -- which was a major attraction last year -- deter fans from enjoying the Olympic development races.

But it was West Philadelphia's West Catholic High School which started this year's Relays off with a bang, as the Burrs' senior star Nicole Leach stole the show in Thursday's fourth event. The soon-to-be UCLA Bruin set a new record in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 57.44 seconds. The previous mark was 57.84 seconds, which Leach set in 2004.

"I couldn't ask for anything else my senior year," she said.

After leading her team to more victories on Thursday and Friday, Leach was named the Outstanding High School Girls' Athlete of the meet.

While Penn welcomed schools from near and far to Philadelphia, the Quakers' men and women were taking quite a bit of the spotlight for themselves. On Thursday, the Penn women's 4x400m team won the Heptagonals relay, beating out six other Ivy League teams in a Heps record time of 3:42.62. It was the Red and Blue's first women's Relays medal since 1992, and it prompted quite a party in the infield.

"Oh my God," Penn women's track coach Gwen Harris said, after she received congratulations from many members of the Penn Athletic Department staff. "This is awesome; this is awesome."

The result was good enough to qualify Penn for the ECAC Championship race. The Penn men's 4x100m team qualified for the ECAC Championship race in its event as well, finishing fifth in its heat with a time of 46.67 seconds.

Friday was not as successful for the Quakers, with only 100m sprinter Grafton Ifill qualifying for a second-round race. There was a bit of levity for Penn fans, however, as four members of the football team -- junior running back Kelechi Okere, sophomore wide receiver Von Bryant, and junior defensive backs Rob Lombardi and Michael Johns -- ran in the Men's Olympic Development 4x100m relay. They ran under the name Penn Football Ryders, and were had to wear the wrestling team's singlets, for lack of any other available uniforms.

"We all just wanted to run a little bit, and [Penn men's track coach Charlie] Powell just gave us a chance to have some fun with it," Bryant said.

Saturday brought the weekend's biggest crowd and also some of the loudest cheers Franklin Field has heard in some time. The day's events were highlighted by the USA vs. the World races, in which the world's elite runners -- including many participants in last year's Olympics -- took to the track.

The United States dominated the 4x100m relay, silencing the swarms of Jamaican fans in attendance. On the women's side, USA Red, led by 2004 Olympians Lauryn Williams and LaTasha Colander, finished first in 42.68 seconds. USA Blue, with fellow Olympians Angela Williams, Allyson Felix and Muna Lee, finished second in 43.15 seconds.

On the men's side, a pair of 2004 Olympic gold medalists -- 200m champion Sean Crawford and 100m champion Justin Gatlin -- avenged their loss to Great Britain in the 4x100m at the 2004 Olympics, winning the race in 38.58.

The 4x400m relays were a different story. While the USA Red women's team blew out the competition, finishing first in 3:22.93 and winning the race by nearly 13 seconds, the American men were not nearly as successful.

The USA Red team was disqualified after Penn Relays veteran Tyree Washington got tangled up with the Bahamas' Chris Brown on the back turn of the second leg, and the spikes on Washington's shoes hit Jamaica's Sanjay Ayre. Ayre was able to keep running, though, and seized the lead. The Jamaican fans cheered him and his teammates on, and anchor Davian Clarke led the way to his country's first-ever Penn Relays victory after five years of 'USA vs. the World' Competition.

"If Tyree didn't fall I think it would have been a very interesting race," Ayre said. "I think it was very unfortunate that he went down."

It was a particularly special race for Clarke. He has run at every Relays since 1991, when he first came to Philadelphia with Kingston College, and he anchored this year's historic win on his 29th birthday.

It is those kinds of connections that have made so many fans and runners return to Franklin Field over the years, and next year's Penn Relays will surely be no different.

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