Dennis Manyeah and Mike Kolor sprint to the line in the invitational boys 800 at The Armory (Photo by Steven Pisano).
It's been a busy two days for Penn Wood.
On Monday, the Penn Wood girls snagged a pair of top times in the state, winning both the sprint medley relay and 4x800 at a long day at Lehigh. Dennis Manyeah took fourth in the high jump and then ran in a relay. But they weren't done.
Penn Wood journeyed up to The Armory for the Marine Corps Holiday Classic for a shot at some more big performances.
They didn't disappoint.
In the invitational 800, Manyeah ran an incredible US#1 with a time of 1:56.13 for the win over Seneca Valley's Mike Kolor, who placed second in a US#2 time of 1:56.30. Then it was the girls' turn. Agnes Mansaray and Terri Turner went 1-2 in the 800, both good enough for the top two times in the state. Mansaray won it in 2:16.35 and Turner was second in 2:16.83.
Time to call it a day? Nope.
The Penn Wood 4x400 of Maishia Coleman, Rokia Kaba, Mansaray, and Turner added a US#1 just for good measure. Their time of 3:55.82 bettered their own PA#1 by almost five seconds and now tops the national leaderboard. All in all, the Penn Wood girls now hold three PA#1s in the relays.
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Cheltenham and Norristown also had a nice meets.
Norristown's Jayana Webb crushed the 200 meters, moving in to the PA#1 spot by over a second on the banked track of the Armory, clocking in at 24.79, which is a US#2 as well.
Madison Langley-Walker took her PA#1 in the long jump up over 18 feet, winning 18-2. In the 300 meters, Chanel Brissett and Alexis Crosby took fourth and fifth, respectively. Brissett clocked in at 40.02 for a PA#2 and Crosby got a PA#4 time in 40.38.
The 4x200 was a battle between Cheltenham and Norristown. Cheltenham bettered their own PA#1 in the relay in the prelims, running a 1:42.41 to retain that title, but in the finals, Norristown was the faster squad. Norristown took third place overall in 1:42.65 and Cheltenham was fourth in 1:42.78. That will be an intriguing matchup to watch moving forward, especially when you factor in some of the other teams who could contend with those two.
In the 55m hurdles, Perkiomen Valley freshman Christina Warren tied the top time in the state, finishing third in an 8.31. Warren also leaped 17-9, good enough for third in the long jump and a PA#2. PV's Cheyenne Churchville ran a 26.04 (PA#2) in the 200 prelims, but didn't make the finals, giving you an idea as to how stacked that field was.
The girls' mile was another highlight of the day. Downingtown West's Aislinn Devlin led early, but gave way to Friends' Central's Gabrielle Wilkinson, who won the race in 4:57.75. That puts Wilkinson just behind Unionville's Anna Juul on the state leaders list. Devlin ended up fifth in her first race of the year with a PA#3 5:06.48.
In the boys' DMR, Cheltenham became the new state leader, running a 10:52.15 to take over the top spot.
Afte Manyeah and Kolor ran away with the invitational 800, Pennridge's Tucker Desko wasn't far off from them at all in a "varsity" heat later in the day, crushing the field with a 1:56.34. It would have been interesting to see how Desko could have performed in a hotter heat, but we'll leave that for a later date.
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When it comes to depth in the relays, can anyone touch Abington? Monday, the Ghosts ran the state's top SMR. Then they killed the 4x800 at the Armory, clocking an 8:01.01, a huge US#1. Jake Good, Cameron Mitchell, Aaron Sooknanan, and Keion Broadus teamed up to drop a great early season time. The Ghosts have been on point in the early stages of this season, and we'll see who, if anyone, can catch them.