Simon Gratz lets their times do their talking. And they have the watches to prove it.

Click here for Simon Gratz photos from the two COA Relays

Each year at the end of April, alumni, family, friends and fans of the Simon Gratz Track & Field team gather in the same sections at Franklin Field during the Penn Relays. This year's Carnival was only different because the group had to move one section on Thursday and Friday when reserved seating took over their usual spot. But Saturday was the same. Section NJ, out of the sun.

The 4x800 team.

The meet began for the team on a somewhat down note on Friday morning. After some less-than-perfect baton passes in the 4x100 on Friday left Gratz on the outside looking in at the Championship of America, Head Coach Robert Massie wasn't sure what to expect.

From their shaded perch atop Franklin Field on Saturday, he, assistant coach Fred Daniels, and the gathering of Gratz supporters could see everything happening below them. What they couldn't see was the incredible double that was about to unfold on a sun-soaked track in one of the best venues in the world. "In the grand scheme, it never works like you plan. This is far and away more than anything we anticipated. I'm still on cloud nine," Massie said.

What he didn't plan, and never would say out loud, was having two relays finish as the top American teams in two Championship of America races, all within the space of 2 hours and 10 minutes.

After the 4x100 disappointment mid-day on Friday, Massie says the entire team was so upset... especially when they saw two other quality programs, Camden and Deep Creek, advance. Earlier in the day, Derrick Davis, Darryl Davis, Devon Summerville, and Khaliff Featherstone had run a controlled 2nd place 7:57.44 in the 2nd heat of the 4x800 Large Schools trials, a mark that advanced them to the Championship of America. The guys were also looking forward to their Public League 4x400 set for early Saturday afternoon. Their challenge in that race was to run fast enough to make the Championship of America without any other teams to push them.

The team took their 4x100 disappointment and turned it into motivation to control their destiny on Saturday. Keep in mind, that as successful as this team has been over the years, no boys from Simon Gratz had ever won a watch at the Penn Relays. And it had been since the Joyce Bates-anchored 4x100 team ran 46.24 in 1996 to finish 4th and as 1st Americans since a Gratz team had won watches.

As is usually the case, it is other circumstances, which usually create the conditions that lead to previously unimagined success. In this case, it was an injury and a coach who saw a change was needed and wasn't afraid to try something new.

The injury was to sophomore Khaliff "Swift" Featherstone, the runner on the team with the most range, and the best 800 speed. In fact, over the indoor season, Featherstone had split 1:51-point. The Wednesday before the April 15th Freddie Hendricks meets in Maryland, he "tweaked his leg." He ran the 4x200 that Saturday, felt a little pain, and eased up in a 22.0 split. From that point until the Public League Relays on the 24th, just three days before the beginning of the Penn Relays, he was still nursing his leg. Massie let him run the 800 in the DMR. He felt it a little. Having never been injured before, Featherstone wasn't sure what to expect at Penn. Massie made decisions at Penn based on using Featherstone only when absolutely necessary.

The change that Coach Massie made was in his training plan. Since the Philadelphia Public League had joined the PIAA in 2004, Simon Gratz had to adjust to a different schedule. The 2005 PIAA Championships were an eye-opener for Massie. After an incredible indoor campaign with the team occupying US#1 spots in several relays for long stretches, Gratz was expected (and did themselves) to run well at both the Carnival and PIAA States. At the Penn Relays, Massie says they made the 4x100 Championship of America, but weren't "sharp." And their Philadelphia-Area 4x400 was "a little tentative and a little tired." By States, they were worn down. While they medaled in the 200, 400, 4x100 and 4x400, the team was definitely not their best. The most surprising race to Simon Gratz and many others was the 2nd place in the 4x400, running slower than they had in the Trials. "PIAA taught us a lesson."

The adjustment Massie made was to race less and train more. "We pulled back this year on competition. Last weekend (4/22) we didn't run. We didn't go to Morgan State (4/8). We altered things a bit so that this year for Penn we would be a little more rested.

With Featherstone's injury on his mind, Massie used his youngest star sparingly. Featherstone would have been on the 4x100, but wasn't. That race had followed his 1:56.3 anchor on the qualifying 4x800, one of the fastest splits of the round. Because Featherstone was needed to anchor the Championships of America 4x800 on Saturday, Massie decided not to use him in the early afternoon Public League 4x400. The coach knew it was a risk to hold out Featherstone for such an important race, but he decided that they "were either going to make it without him or run the Philadelphia area race. I didn't want to risk it before the 4x800."

Derrick Davis lead off, followed by Markise King, Kenneth Talley and his twin, Kevin on the anchor. Their 3:15.54, run with no competition to push them, had qualified them for the Championship of America. Featherstone was in the stands watching the whole thing unfold. "Khaliff was out of his mind when they ran that," Massie says. "He took off down the stairs to find them. I was just hoping he wouldn't get injured. I never dreamed they could take it that far without Khaliff."

Less than two hours later, Simon Gratz lined up with 11 other great teams, including the top New York programs, along with Holmwood Tech of Jamaica, and PA powers North Penn, West Chester East, Upper Dublin and Cardinal O'Hara. Derrick Davis lead off for Gratz in 1:57.0, handing off near the lead to Devin Summerville. Summerville had the tough task of staying with one of North Penn's two fastest 800 runners, Phil Wright. Wright split 1:54.7, with Summerville passing off after running 1:56.6. Darryl Davis, like his twin Derrick, is in his first year of running. Massie says they had been trying to recruit the two seniors since their freshman year. Darryl joined the cross country team this past fall, while Derrick played football. Both ran indoor. The two have learned quickly. Darryl split 1:56.1 and handed to Khaliff right with the Holmwood runner and North Penn anchor Cody Edling. Massie says that Edling was the perfect competitor for Featherstone. "Cody made him run. And when he passed Cody and Cody passed him back, he was determined he wasn't going to lose." Unfortunately for Gratz and North Penn, the Holmwood runner was on his way to a 1:54.6 split. Massie says he could see Featherstone inching up on him, but he waited too long.

Nonetheless, the race for best American team was won by Gratz. Featherstone split 1:56.0, with Edling just a tenth-of-a-second back. The 7:45.66 was just over two seconds behind first. The coach credits some of the returning alumni who had run 7:45 in 1982 with encouraging the current athletes throughout the Carnival.

Massie had seen what he needed to see. "Once Khaliff ran that, he was convinced he was OK."

The time for initial celebration didn't last long, because the team had to prepare for the 4x400 Championship of America, which was scheduled for 2 hours, 10 minutes later. And in another twist of fate, the lineup changed because one of the athletes didn't make the warm-up in time.

Massie says he was originally going to take Derrick Davis out of the 4x400 COA for Featherstone. But Markise King was late for warm-ups, so he kept Derrick in the leadoff, moved Kevin Talley to 2nd, Kenneth Talley to 3rd, and Featherstone into the anchor slot. "We were going to lead Kenneth with Markise 2nd." With splits of 50.1, 48.4, 49.0 and 47.2, the team had improved to 3:14.55, with the three top Jamaican teams all within three seconds ahead. But for Gratz, it was an improbable, unpredicted, unprecedented 2nd trip to the podium as the top American team in a Championship of America race.

Massie and his team won't have long to savor cloud 9. "We haven't done much speed work." So it's no competition and just training until they face tough competition in their District meet on May 13th, and then at States on Memorial Day weekend. "The 4x100 will be interesting. Both Martin Luther King and Germantown have been aiming to beat us. They're both strong." In the 4x400, Massie says they won't ever forget Cumberland Valley after last year. CV ran 3:17.36 at Penn, just missing the COA. "Cumberland Valley is very disciplined. The kids are always on point. I like their program. They will be ready." Massie also says he's not forgetting Harrisburg (who beat them in the 4x400 at indoor states this year), North Penn, Neshaminy, and others. And now with the Davis twins and Summerville to complement Featherstone in the 4x800, they're looking for a great race in the state 4x800, as well. "With us, Wissahickon, North Penn, Upper Dublin and others, someone could get into the 7:30's," Massie says.

"I tell the kids, a true champion is always humble. You don't have to tell people what you do."

It's all about time, height and distance. And now Gratz has the watches to prove it.

At 2:55pm in the 4x800 COA, Derrick Davis opened with a 1:57.0.

Devin Summerville split 1:56.6.

Darryl Davis ran a 1:56.1.

And Khaliff Featherstone anchored in 1:56.0.

...holding off North Penn's Cody Edling (1:56.1).

Derrick Davis (1:57.0), Devin Summerville (1:56.6), Darryl Davis (1:56.1), Khaliff Featherstone (1:56.0) = 7:45.66, North Penn 7:46.38

At 1pm, Markise King ran the 2nd leg in 49.2 on the Public League
4x400 that ran 3:15.54 to qualify for the COA.

At 5:05pm, it was Derrick Davis leading off in 50.1.

Kevin Talley ran 48.4.

Kenneth Talley went 49.0.

And Khaliff Featherston split 47.2 for their 4th place 3:14.55.