The Classical Classic wasn’t the only show in town for some of our top track & field athletes this past weekend.
The Penn Relays Carnival was the destination of choice for some current and former stars that call the Ocean State their home.
It turned out to be quite the weekend for our locals down in Philadelphia.
Just two years ago. Sophia Gorriaran (remember her?) held her own against some of nation and world bests in the Olympic Development 600m where she ran a national outdoor record of 1 minute, 25.22 seconds.
On Saturday, the former Moses Brown standout was there for the first time as a collegian.
She left historic Franklin Field as an NCAA record holder.
The Harvard University freshman was part of the Crimson’s triumphant Distance Medley Relay that broke the national collegiate mark by combining for a time of 10:37.44. Harvard simply destroyed the previous record of 10:48.38 by Villanova set in 1988. Gorriaran ran the leadoff 1,200m leg with a solid 3:20.36. Running the anchor was defending 1,500m national champion Maia Ramsden , who solidified the coveted Penn Relays Wheel with a 4:21.47 for her 1,600m leg.
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After having the chance to witness La Salle Academy’s mega-talented 400m runners at the BSR Mid-Distance Classic on April 19 where they claimed five of the top six placements, it didn’t surprise us what the Rams did at the Penn Relays. The quartet of Amari Monteiro (51.98), Thaden Leomensah (50.06), Jackson Alves (51.03) and Garrett Giroux_Pezzullo (49.24) combined for a splendid 3:22.29 to finish sixth overall against a field that included some of the nation’s best as well as top Jamaican squads. It’s only a matter of time before this crew dips under 3:20. Hendricken was eighth in its heat with a time of 3:29.80.
In the girls’ 4x400m, the Lady Rams were third in their heat with a state No. 2 of 4:08.38. Alexis Caggiano anchored the squad with a 58.34 split.
Chariho’s Erin vonHousen ran her third straight sub-5 in the girls’ Championship Mile with a time of 4:58.71. Competing in the Championship 3K, Saint Raphael’s Rory Sullivan ran a solid 10:02.84.
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Our good friend and longtime Toll Gate coach Norm Bouthillier sent us a text on Monday night informing us about a spectacular day from senior Allison Pankowicz in a dual meet at Hendricken. The indoor 1K champion began her day by winning the 1,500m with a PR of 4:53. Just an hour later, Pankowicz was back on the track and captured the 3,000m in a facility record of 10:27.4. To cap it all off, she ran 1:06.7 as the anchor for her team’s 4x400m squad with just five minutes rest from her 3K race. Pretty impressive stuff.
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Just like that, we already have our first championship meets of the season. On Saturday, all four leagues will be holding their championships with the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central divisions taking place at various venues.
As a prelude to that meet, watch two of our top stars competing at the second annual BSR Elite Scholastic Mile on Friday night. La Salle’s Marshall Vernon is among the boys’ entries, while the Saints’ Sullivan will be in the girls’ race. The meet will be held at Regis College in Weston with the girls beginning at 7:30 p.m., and the boys answering the gun at 7:45 p.m. You can either witness the race in person or watch our FREE live stream on our Bay State Running YouTube page. At last year’s event, former SRA standout and current Iowa State frosh Devan Kipyego led seven runners under 4:11 in the boys’ race.
