The main event for the PA boys on the track will be in the 4x400 meter relay, where Cheltenham will have an opportunity to return to the Championship of America final after qualifying in 2010.
That 2011 team ran 3:13 to make the big Championship of America final, and the 2015 team have run 3:17 indoors and outdoors this season. Racing against the clock in the Suburban American race was what the 2010 squad did to go through. Can the team of Cordell Richardso, Christian Brissett, Kyle Davis, and John Lewis do the same? They have the stats to prove they can, they will just need to do it at one time.
While they are chasing the chance to make the big race, the PA chase pack behind the indoor national champions will look to have their day in the cool sunshine. The 4x4 has gone through a major shakeup thanks to the top 11 time all being run in the past 7 days! St Joseph's Prep made it to PA#2 by becoming the 2nd team to break 3:20 in 2015 with a 3:19.86 performance in Delaware. Central Dauphin East ran 3:20.88 to come close and they will be led by their star hurdler and 48.70 open 400 meter runner Charles Bowman, Jr. Abington and Wissahickon are starting to find their groove with their 3:22 performances. Penn Wood will also be in the mix after being the 2nd best 4x4 team and one of the top ten teams in the country during the indoor season. Ndiaga Seck and Charlie Wells will lead the way for the Delaware County squad.
Speaking of Delaware County, the top spot in the 4x100 meter relay belongs to Upper Darby. They are the only team to break 43 seconds on two separate occasions and they currently sit on top of the state list with their Great Valley Relays meet record time of 42.22. They will be one of the favorites to make one of the Saturday races. Cheltenham will certainly be in the mix to run fast after having the best 4x2 team in the state for the entire winter. State College edged out Carlisle and Central Dauphin East at Shippensburg on Saturday with all three teams breaking 43 seconds. Downingtown West is the other squad in PA to have dipped under 43 seconds this season.
The 4x800 meter relay has three teams that have broken 8 minutes this spring and they all will be competing on Friday to try and make the 12 team Championship of America final on Saturday.
Downingtown West has been the top team in the event this spring since Easter weekend after running 7:55.09 at William and Mary. They have good depth to their squad that they can use to try and get to the final thanks to the additions of Jaxson and Josh Hoey.
Pennsbury have the speed of Alek Sauer to help pace them. They had the fastest time during the indoor season with two separate 7:51 performances. Central Bucks East have the 3rd sub 8 minute 4x8 in the state this season with their 7:58.56. State College finished in the top 3 at the indoor state meet and ran 8:05 in their Penn Relays tune up at Shippensburg.
In the small school races, Penncrest will lead the charge after breaking 8 minutes on a couple of occasions. They have three of the four legs back from last season, so experience will be on their side. Strath Haven will enter a young team who ran their best time of the season with an 8:06.50 at Coatesville 2 weeks ago.
Four teams will contest the Championship of America Distance Medley Relay. St Joseph's Prep spent the majority of the indoor season in the PA#2 position and finished the winter with a 10:20.79 performance at Nationals. Malvern Prep have been catapulted by the performance of Billy McDevitt to earn this Penn Relays opportunity. McDevitt has spent part of the spring as the PA#1 800 meter runner. Conestoga have been led by some strong performances from Andrew Marston as of late and the anchor of their team will be ready to have the biggest race of his career. Germantown Friends will be led by Nick Dahl, who has won big races of this caliber in his short high school career.
In the mile run, it's Sam Ritz of Germantown Academy looking to win another big championship during what has been an phenomenal season. The indoor state champion and indoor mile state record holder hasn't run the mile since indoor nationals, but ran 4:08.67 in his last appearance. He has come through in every big race thus far. Can he continue the trend?
The 3000 meter run will have a bigger PA contingent on the track. Reigning AA 3200 meter champion Dominic Hockenbury of Lake Lehman came within an eye lash of winning the indoor 3000 meter run, only to get out kicked on the final turn. He rebounded well to earn All American honors in the 5000 meter run indoors. He prepped for this race by running a solo 4:20 at Shippensburg on Saturday.
Speaking of All Americans, Casey Comber of Hatboro Horsham was also an All American in that race and has come on strong after a slow start to the season due to Foot Locker cross country commitments. He's run 9:26 for 3200 meters so far this spring.
Kevin James of Cardinal O'Hara has performed very well on the biggest stages, but is still searching for his first big individual championship. James has the best personal best for 3200 meters out of the PA bunch after running 9:03 at states last season. He ran 8:40 in the 3000 indoors without spikes on a flat track in January.
Cross country state champion Jake Brophy of Central Bucks East will also compete and despite not running too many 3000s or 3200s this year, he has come big in the big meets all year long. If he does it again, it shouldn't surprise anyone. Aaron Gebhart of New Oxford ran 9:33 in the 3200 meter run on Saturday at Shippensburg to tune up for Friday's race.
Lastly, the 400 meter hurdles will have the US#1 400 meter hurdler John Lewis of Cheltenham, who ran 53.80 on a windy Easter Saturday. He will be one of the favorites to score a high place on Saturday, which would be another feather in the cap of another great season.
Dave Marrington of Neshaminy finished less than a second behind Lewis in that same race on April 4 and ran a US#2 54.70, and he could ended up in the seeded race against Lewis in a PA rematch. Marrington is the PA#1 athlete at 300 meter hurdles.
Charles Bowman Jr of Central Dauphin East is coming off a big open 400 meter time of 48.70 to earn PA#2 honors at Shippensburg. He's run 39.92 for 300 meter hurdles this season. Malik Jefferson of Swenson ran 39.60 for 300 meter hurdles and has run in the low 50s for an open 400 on a relay. Kornelius Klah of Pennsbury will be the 5th PA representative in the race who has shown he can run with the big guys for the past couple of years.