Penn Relays Carnival 2006

Possible rebroadcast of the NBC coverage of the Penn Relays...

From Walt Murphy\'s News and Results Service As most of you know, NBC

Photo Galleries of the weekend action at the Penn Relays Carnival and Mars Invitational (James Wood)

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 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.

13 Photo Galleries by Don Rich from the 4/27-29 Penn Relays Carnival @ Franklin Field, University of Pennsylvania 10 more coming Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA -- LSU\'s track and field team left its mark on the Penn Relays record books, winning four more Championship of America relay titles in front of a lively crowd of 49,771 on the final day of competition from Franklin Field.

Podcasts: Interviews from three days of the Penn Relays: Ryann Krais, Rob Ronzano, Lorraine Hill, Elisha Jones, Allyn Laughlin, Liindsay Regan, Anthony Carr, Ryan Comstock, Frances Koons, Jacob Walker, Kamal Marell, Adam Thielemann, Jared Jodon, Lenny Jordan, Christiana Taylor...

Simon Gratz is the top American team in the 4x800 + 4x400 Championship of America races. Jared Jodon gets 2n dPV,Asby-HJ,Westbrook-TJ,Thielemann-DT

Jake Walker runs takes 3rd in the 3000. Five PA teams qualify for the 4x800 Championship of America on Saturday. Jeff Hostetler takes 2nd in the Jav. Nathan Stewart gets 3rd in the Shot Put.

The lone bright spot for the Virginia boys on Saturday at Penn Relays was E.C. Glass senior Mike Zajac\'s victory in the discus throw with a mark of 178\'6\". Zajac defeated Jamaican national champion Sharif Small (175\'4\") for the Penn Relays hardware. While no Virginian boys qualified for the Championships of America finals in the 4x400 meter relay, Deep Creek posted the fastest time among Virginia schools at 3:18.41 as they were stuck in a loaded Jamaican heat. Meanwhile, Western Branch (3:18.98) and James Robinson (3:18.79) won their heats in dominating style with sub 3:20 clockings. It has been a while since Virginia has had three 4x400 meter relays with times under 3:20. Also Westfield and Huguenot posted respectable and nearly identical times in their heats with times of 3:21.03 (Westfield) and 3:21.04 (Huguenot) respectively. After the Midlothian girls were mauled on their opening leg in Thursday\'s DMR, but were still able to finish the race, the Deep Creek and Manchester boys encountered similar woes of misfortunte in Saturday\'s 4x100 meter relay finals. Both teams DNF\'d with Deep Creek in the Championships of America finals and Manchester in the small school finals. The bad news just got bleaker for Virginia with heavily favored Mike Morrison of Great Bridge, who some had thought would take down the meet record in the pole vault, was unable to successfully clear at his opening height. Booker T. Washington senior Marlon Woods, who boasts a personal best height of 6\'9\" in the high jump, cleared fours inches short of that height at Penn Relays at 6\'5\" to finish sixth overall.

Allyn Laughlin and Lindsay Regan win Penn Relays titles. Ryan Krais acquits herself well with 4th in 400 Hurdles. West Catholic misses 4x400 COA. Lorraine Hill 2nd in Javelin as PA goes 2-5. CB West, Henderson and Gwynedd-Mercy advance to 4x800 COA.

9:45pm: Christy Johnson of Bryn Mawr School runs an impressive 4:57.2 Mile to take 7th in the Penn Relays Mile Run! Thursday - 6:26 PM HSG 4x800 boasts awesome times from MD! ER finished 2nd in the prelims to advance to the Championship of America with a time of 9:08.09!! The times for the day were as follows: 9:08.09 DJ Eleanor Roosevelt 9:29.03 CF Winston Churchill 9:34.04 BL Bishop McNamara 9:34.08 CN Walt Whitman 9:42.07 CS Largo 400H 11 1:03.12 Patricia Anyanwu ER 18 1:05.42 Antoinette Arrington ER

Menchville junior Nicole Saunders had an impressive showing in the 400 meter hurdles at Penn Relays as she ran a US #1 time of 59.65 to win her section and finish second overall to Jamaica\'s Sherene Pinnock of Edwin Allen. Allen ran a meet record time of 56.09. Saunders did it the hard way as she was not in the fast section as beat some of the best in America in Krystal Cantey of New Jersey (1:00.05) and Ryan Krais of Pennsylvania (1:00.11). An excellent start for Virginia with the first high school running event of the meet. Ashley Gatling won the high jump competition in a tiebreaker with two other athletes at 5\'8.50\". The Lake Braddock girls ran a smoking time of 9:16 to qualify for the Championships of America finals in the 4x800 meter relay with nearly four legs all splitting under 9:20. Francena McCorory ran a 52.8 split as Bethel\'s third leg on their 3:46, which is the fourth fastest time overall. Bethel also posted a swift 47.07 in the 4x100 meter relay to qualify for the finals in that event as well. Three state best times recorded in three relay events proves that Penn Relays is the place to run fast. Virginia takes two of the top four in the 3K with Catherine White (3rd, 9:49) and Sarrah Hadiji (4th, 9:58) and Katie Doswell also finishes fourth in the mile (4:54). Don Rich of MileSplit Network sister site penntrackxc.com is on-site taking photos for MileStat.com and the rest of the Network. Expect frequent updates of Virginia athletes and relays at Penn Relays.

Erin Hannon, the Bradford multis athlete who is the 2nd seed in the Invitatonal High Jump at the Penn Relays Carnival, has been forced to scratch the event because of illness. The weather in the northern sections of PA has been even more miserable than the rest of the state. Teammate Sarah Lonzi, who is scheduled to compete in the Invitaitional 3000 meter run, has also scratched.

Penn Relays Saturday PA Summary: A big day for Simon Gratz as they are the best American team in both the 4x800 and 4x400 Championships of America. North Penn took 3rd in the 4x800 as a Jamaican team won. Gratz then came back just over two hours later to take 4th in the 4x400 Championship of America behind three Jamaican teams. In the Triple Jump, Lancaster McCaskey\'s Ceasar Westbrook finished 2nd. Jared Jodon of Laurel Highlands, outlasted the wind and pressure take 2nd in the Pole Vault. Jason Inzana of Daniel Boone was tied for 5th. Upper Darby\'s Dominic Asby captured 2nd in the High Jump, while Parkland\'s Tyrone Faverey was 5th. Adam Thielemann of Cumberland Valley took 3rd in the Discus The West Catholic girls won the Tri-State 4x100. In the Long Jump, Bonner\'s Michael Tomasco was the top PA athlete, finishing 8th. Penn Relays Friday PA Summary: Ellwood City senior Jake Walker captured 3rd in 8:21.94 to take 3rd place behind Matt Centrowitz, MD (8;20.09) and Craig Forys NJ (8:21.82). Jeff Hostetler, Selinsgrove, and Brian Moore, LaSalle, went 2-3 in the Javelin. In the morning, four PA boys\' teams advanced to the Large Schools 4x100 Championships. Upper Dublin, North Penn, West Chester East and Cardinal O\'Hara qualified for Saturday\'s 4x800 Championship of America. In the Discus, Susquehanna Township\'s Caitlyn Green was 7th, and Holilidaysburg\'s Jennifer McConnell was 8th. West Catholic\'s luck went from so-so to bad with a dropped baton in the Small Schools 4x100 Championship. In the boys\' Shot Put, Glen Mill\'s Nathan Stewart was 3rd while North Allegheny\'s Garrett Larkin was 5th. Matt Gordon split 1:53.4 in the AM 4x800\'s helping Upper Dublin advance to the COA. His time was the 4th best of the morning races. Wissahickon held the lead in the DMR at the start of the Mile leg, but finished 6th. West Chester Henderson was 9th. In the Mile, Wallenpaupack\'s Kevin Sives was the top PA finisher, taking 10th. West Chester East\'s Duriel Hardy was 11th and Springfield Montco\'s Matlack Gillin was 12th. Manheim Township\'s Craig Miller did not start for undisclosed reasons. A few hours after taking 2nd at the Penn Relays in the Javelin, Selinsgrove\'s Josh Hostetler hit a much bigger series of throws at Mount Carmel HS, going 197\'10\", 211\' 6\" and an even bigger PR of 213\'4\", which is US#1. Penn Relays Thursday Summary: It was a day of big PRs, renewal and some disappointment for PA high school athletes. We were greeted with the best weather the Penn Relays has offered in years. Sunny, comfortable, and light winds. Coming off an injury, and just beginning to train full-throttle, senior Lindsay Regan of Easton won her 2nd Penn Relays Pole Vault title, breaking her own Relays record. Probably the biggest surprise of the day was the West Catholic 4x400 Relay. The team had hoped to qualify for their 4th consecutive Championship of America, but with no leg below 58 seconds among the opening three, anchor Latavia Thomas would have needed a miracle to make up the time. Methacton\'s Ryann Krais finished 4th in the 400 Hurdles. In the 4x800, Central Bucks West, West Chester Henderson and Gwynedd-Mercy advance to the Championship of America 4x800. The Shot Put came down to the final throw, as Center\'s Allyn Laughlin launched a put over 48\' for the win. In the Javelin, PA went 2-3-4-5. Chambersburg\'s Lorraine Hill PRed by 11 FEET to take 2nd. Conestoga anchor Liz Costello got the baton near the back of the Invitational Distance Medley Relay, and nearly pulled off a medal, moving into 5th for a few meters before being passed over the final 20 by the Vere Technical (Jamaica) anchor. Click here for results from the Penn Relays

The 112th annual Penn Relays gets underway this week with many of Virginia\'s best individual athletes and relays in attendance. Several individuals are in contention for individual glory and wins such as Great Bridge senior Mike Morrison going after the Penn Relays meet record in the pole vault and Northside junior Catherine White in 3K. The Bethel girls, Deep Creek boys, Menchville girls, and Huguenot boys among other Virginia relays will be looking to advance into the Championships of America finals in the sprint relays.

The Erie McDowell track & field program has been under the inspiring leadership of Joe Sanford for years. And to hear one of his coaches tell it, it\'s not just the athletes who are inspired... it\'s the coaches as well. Maybe that has a lot to do with the continued success of one of the top programs in the state. PennTrackXC.com talked with jumps coach Doug Stratton about the program, about once-in-a-lifetime talents times two

Walt Murphy, who publishes Eastern Track and X-Country X-Press, has published his annual preview of the Penn Relays Carnival. It\'s an event-by-event look at the meet. Take a read, enjoy, and should you see any mistakes or if you feel he neglected a deserving individual or team, send him an email (his request) to WMurphy25@aol.com. Conestoga coach Ryan Comstock and his teams have high expectations, including Central League 4x400 records, hot 4x100\'s, and a great race at the front of the Girls\' DMR. We\'ve also included the top PA seeds in the individual events.

All Penn Relays High School Individual and Relay entries are now posted...

Next Key Date: Updates of individual performances must be made by Sunday April 9 at 4:00pm EDT.