No Pennsylvania squads qualified for the Championship of America in the 4x400 on Friday, but that was OK, because we still absolutely stellar battle for Philadelphia Area bragging rights on Saturday evening at the Penn Relays.
The race was chock full of talented teams. We had Norristown, Central Bucks West, Winslow from New Jersey, and Springside Chestnut Hill. And, of course, we had Penn Wood and Cheltenham. In the final event featuring Pennsylvania preps, we knew there had to be some fireworks and Event 491 didn't disappoint. In fact, six of the state's ten top 4x400s came from this race alone.
.jpg)
Turner nips Crosby at the line after an all out sprint to the tape (Photo by Don Rich)
At the final exchange, Penn Wood's Terri Turner and Cheltenham's Alexis Crosby got the baton at just about the same time and set up a one lap race to the finish. But also lurking a few meters back was Springside Chestnut Hill's Brooklynn Broadwater. Watch the drama unfold above.
What a great way to finish out the Penn Relays, and it leaves us just thinking of the kind of drama a rematch showdown at Shippensburg at the end of May will bring.
Check out some of the splits this race supplied, too (with some of the highlights bolded):
1. Penn Wood (3:46.73): Janae Pitt (58.00), Agnes Mansaray (55.50), Elicia Moore (58.64), Terri Turner (54.61)
2. Cheltenham (3:46.81): Bria Barnes (55.98), Chanel Brissett (56.66), Dior Alston (59.76), Alexis Crosby (54.44)
3. Springside Chestnut Hill (3:48.56): Alexandria Kitchell (56.55), Haley Unthank (58.87), Olabisi Adams (59.19), Brooklynn Broadwater (53.96)
4. North Penn (5:53.09): Natalie Kwortnik (59.50), Mikaela Vlasic (58.18), Lauren Follis (1:01.09), Uche Nwogwugwu (54.32)
5. Winslow (3:54.16): Iyianna Williams (1:00.01), Flora Ahiarakwe (58.51), Brittany Preston (58.21), Shakira Darby (57.44)
6. Norristown (3:55.37): Siani Sanders (58.50), Jayana Webb (55.09), Sheila Day (1:02.61), Lorriane Boggs (59.19)