Wrapping up Day 2 at the Penn Relays

While the women dominated the headlines on the track and in the field yesterday, it was the men’s turn Friday.

And it started with a soon-to-be Penn athlete.

A year after finishing in second in the HS Boy’s Discus Throw Championship, Sam Mattis of East Brunswick High School in New Jersey finally claimed the win and Penn Relays watch.

The senior, who will join Penn men’s track team next year, unleashed a 64.60-meter (211 feet, 11 inches) bomb that was the second farthest throw at the Penn Relays and the farthest throw by a U.S. high school athlete this year.

Also in the field, current Quakers sophomore Jacob Brenza set a personal best when he threw 16.15 meters (53 feet) in his third throw in the College Men Eastern Shot Put.

Brenza, whose previous best was 16.08 meters, was able to shake off his performance last week at the Larry Ellis Invitational when he fouled all three throws.

For the men, the 4×100-meter relay and Distance Medley Relay Championship of America turned in solid days.

The 4×100-meter relay of Brent Jules, Efayomi Carr, Colin Donnelly and Mason Smith clocked in 41.92 to finish 34th out of 88 teams.

In the DMR, anchor Ryan Cunningham raced from the middle to the pack to the front in the mile, but could not stay up as Penn finished in 14th with a 10:02.95.

The brightest Quakers’ performance on the track came from Brian Rosenthal in the 4×400-meter relay. When he was handed the baton on the bell lap, the Quakers sat in fifth, two seconds behind second place Columbia.

Rosenthal made up ground on the back stretch passing Matt Bieszard of Yale near the 250-meter mark. Then with 100 meters to go, Rosenthal switched into high gear. He passed Columbia’s Denzel Woode in the last straightaway to move the Red and Blue into second place, behind only Cornell. Penn’s time of 3:18.79 was the fastest for the team this year.

For the Quakers women, the highly anticipated 4×100m couldn’t meet some lofty pre-race expectations.

Hoping to break the school record, Penn ran just 47.09, in what turned out to be a respectable time on an otherwise slow day for all the teams. Pittsburgh won the event in 45.58, but no other squad broke 46 seconds.

Back on the men’s side, another future Penn track star also had a nice day.

Drew Magaha of Upper Moreland, Pa., ran a 4:12.74 in the High School Boy’s Mile to finish in fourth.

Magaha is coming off a week when he ran fastest time in the US this year and set a new Pennsylvania state record in the 800 meters. His time of 1:48.82 at the Abington Jack Armstrong Invitational last Friday came after a three-week hiatus from competition.

To put that time in perspective, no other Ivy runner has beaten that time in an open 800, so far this year.

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