If you aren’t at The Penn Relay Carnival, where are you?
Record-breaking action continued at Franklin Field on Friday. From elite outings to disappointing performances, the second day of the Penn Relays had it all.
Sophomore pole vaulter Alex Georgiev claimed the Quakers’ first title of the meet with a victory in the college men’s pole vault, setting a new outdoor personal record with a 5.12-meter vault.
“I’m feeling good,” Georgiev said after his win. “My mom is here, so I was super happy to perform and be able to PR on our home track.”
“I was not coming in expecting this, so this is honestly a surprise. I feel super blessed and I’m very happy to be here,” he added.
Fellow pole vaulter and junior Evangeline Thomson performed impressively as well, tying for bronze in the college women’s pole vault with a 3.90-meter vault. Sophomore thrower Elias Chase made his Penn Relays debut in style, coming in fifth with a personal-best 60.85-meter toss in the college men’s javelin throw.
On the infield, junior high jumper Samantha Strydesky claimed fourth place in the college women’s high jump after clearing the 1.70-meter bar. Fellow Quaker and freshman multis specialist Yuliya Maslouskaya finished just behind Strydesky in sixth place.
The college women’s distance medley relay Championship of America made its mark on Penn Relays history. Although the Quakers were in contention for the title, a back-and-forth battle between North Carolina and Stanford headlined the event.
Although Stanford led by 40 meters through the second exchange, a tactical effort by North Carolina distance runner Makayla Paige decreased the gap to a single step. As the bell rang to signal the final round, 80 meters separated the duo from the rest of the field. Stanford tried to make a move with half a lap to go, but North Carolina persevered with a 10:36.82 finish, taking the title and the NCAA record by half a step from the outside.
“Every single race we go to, we compete to win, so we just did what we do every single day,” Paige said. “It felt like a day at practice.”
Penn track and field commit and incoming freshman Nick Mazzeo, who currently competes for Lower Merion High School in Montgomery County, Pa., led off his team in the high school boys’ distance medley Championship of America relay. Despite a valiant effort from his twin brother Alex Mazzeo, who led for the Aces with 800 meters to go, Mifflin County High School took the title in a new meet record. Mifflin senior Carter Smith propelled the Huskies from fifth place to first place with a 4:05-minute mile anchor.
As the stadium lights came on, every high school girl’s distance event record fell within an hour. Penn track and field commit and incoming freshman Maeve Going excelled in the 3,000-meter championship race, stopping the clock at 9:29.88 and besting her personal record by 15 seconds for a sixth-place finish.
Lawrenceville School junior Blair Bartlett also lowered her own meet record to take the title for the second year in a row, earning the High School Girls’ Track Athlete of the Meet award for her effort.
Although distance runners dominated the record books, sprinters showed out on the oval as well.
Senior hurdler Shane Gardner entered the final heat of the college men’s 110m hurdles knowing the time he needed to beat to qualify for the finals. Although he finished second in his heat behind Clemson hurdler Sharvis Simmonds, his 13.95-second time was fast enough to advance to tomorrow’s championship.
This is Gardner’s second consecutive 110m hurdles championship appearance at the Penn Relays. Last year, the senior lowered his program record during the preliminary rounds. This year, he’s looking forward to potentially breaking it in the finals.
“Of course I want to beat the record! That’s the only reason I’m here,” Gardner said. “I want to make myself known in history, not just in the present moment.”
On Friday, Hydel High School of Jamaica came in looking for its fifth consecutive title in the high school girls’ 4x400m Championship of America relay. Although the Jamaican powerhouse has dominated the event for half a decade, the reigning champions sat at second, behind Jamaican rival Edwin Allen High School for the majority of the race. Hydel anchor runner Nastassia Fletcher dropped the hammer in the final stretch, winning by two steps. This was Hydel’s seventh victory in the event, giving the school the second-most wins in event history.
For all the victories and fallen records, the second day of the Penn Relays wasn’t without its share of disappointments.
Heartbreak began in the preliminary rounds of the college women’s 4x100m Championship of America relay, where a botched handoff from sophomore sprinter Milan Ramey to freshman sprinter Jailyn Milord took the Quakers out of the race. By the time they recovered, every other team had crossed the finish line.
This wasn’t the only event with an underwhelming outcome, as the preliminaries for the college women’s 4x400m Championship of America relay didn’t go the Quakers’ way either.
Junior sprinter Simone Castelluccio led off on the outside, handing off to freshman sprinter Rianna Floyd in third place. Floyd kept a consistent pace as the race evolved into a solo affair, with big gaps separating each of the runners. Milord made up some ground with a 52.77-second split before freshman sprinter Giuliana Ligor brought it home, stopping the clock at 3:36.35. Despite a valiant effort, the 4x400m relay squad missed the women’s final by a mere half of a second.
Heartbreak struck during the preliminary heats of the college men’s 4x400m Championship of America relay. Coming into the race, the men’s 4x400m squad was ranked 11th in the country and seeded to make the final — perhaps even hoist the wheel.
The Quakers started the relay off hot as sophomore hurdler David Davitt handed off to junior sprinter/hurdler Ryan Matulonis in third place. Matulonis made a move and it paid off, propelling the Quakers to first place as junior sprinter/hurdler Alex Sadikov took the baton.
Through the first 100 meters, Sadikov maintained the lead, but contact and possible interference from Texas A&M led to him dropping the baton. The momentum was lost and Penn fell out of contention to make Saturday’s final despite a valiant effort from junior sprinter Nayyir Newash-Campbell on the anchor leg.
“I didn’t want to give up, no matter what,” Newash-Campbell said. “These boys don’t deserve a leg that gives up, so I still want to go out there even though we’re not going to get first [place].”
The 130th iteration of the Penn Relays will conclude on Saturday, with a packed slate of Olympic Development races and Championship of America finals.
