Photo by Abby Huber
Mother Nature changed the plans of the 4x400-meter relay teams at the PIAA State Championship. Instead of prelims on Friday afternoon, an incoming storm turned it into timed final heats on Saturday afternoon.
The change-up didn't seem to affect the favorites, though. Penn Wood, who won big at the District One Championships a week prior, brought its a game to the final girls' event at the state meet. The team of Janae Pitt, Agnes Mansaray, Elicia Moore, and Terri Turner clocked a 3:42.67 to absolutely shatter the PIAA meet record and take the AAA title. The previous meet record was 3:46.20 by Abington in 2011.
To boot, both Mansaray and Turner picked up individual medals earlier in the day. Mansaray was second in the 800 in a time of 2:07.53, which was also good enough for a Sierra Leone national record in the event. Turner was seventh in the 400 meters in a time of 56.38.
Looking ahead to next year, all but Mansaray return as Penn Wood will go for the repeat. Watch the post-race interview with the record-setting relay: