Denny Dyroff recaps the SOL action at the Penn Relays on Thursday. Photos provided by Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
By DENNY DYROFF
PHILADELPHIA – North Penn’s girls’ track team is unquestionably one of the best teams in the Suburban One League. The Knights, without a doubt, are one of the top teams in District 1. And, North Penn has to be considered one of the premier teams in the state.
The Knights offered proof on Thursday at the 123rd Annual Penn Relays.
They were the only Pennsylvania school to have three relay teams earn the right to come back another day for a championship race event. The only other team to qualify more than one was Coatesville in the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400 relay.
North Penn’s best performance in the huge annual meet at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field came in the Large Schools 4x800.
The Knights finished second in their heat and eighth overall to earn a berth in Friday’s “High School Girls Championship of America” race.
North Penn posted a time of 9:11.65 with the foursome of Jenna Webb (2:20.92), Uchechi Nwogwugwu (2:14.47), Ariana Gardizy (2:18.15), and Mikaela Vlasic (2:18.13).
“This was the first time I ever ran at the Penn Relays,” said Webb, a sophomore. “And, it was the first time I ran the lead-off leg. So, I was really nervous.
“It was really exciting to see all these teams. But, it also made me a bit nervous. Still, I feel I did pretty well. I had a pretty good push on the second lap after running in the middle of the pack in the first lap. I started pushing on the last backstretch.”
Nwogwugwumade a big difference in the race. She was in seventh place when she got the baton and second place when she handed off.
“I took off hard,” said Nwogwugwu, a senior. “I always go out fast. The 400 is my race, so when I do the 800 I go out fast and try to maintain as fast a pace as I can.
“I passed a few girls in the first 200 meters and I was in third after the 400. Then, I passed one more girl in the first 100 of the second lap. The handoff between Jenna and me was pretty clean. The one between me and Ariana wasn’t as good but it was still fine.”
Nwogwugwu, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, logged the 14th-fastest 800 split in the four heats.
Gardizy, Nwogwugwu and Vlasic were three-fourths of the Knights’ 2016 4x800 that finished fourth in the Championship of America race.
Nwogwugwu said, “We’re not here for fun. We’re here to compete.”
Gardizy said, “I didn’t know what the order would be. I was nervous because I had never run the third leg before. I felt pretty good. I was by myself and held second. No one came up on me.
“My first 400 was better. I never negative-split. My p.r. (personal record) in the 4x800 is 2:17 indoor so today’s time was pretty good.”
Vlasic said, “Ariana and I had a good handoff. She gapped a girl so it felt comfortable. We were comfortably in second.”
The final times show how comfortable in second the Knights were. Edwin Allen School from Clarendon, Jamaica won with an 8:56.75. West Springfield High from Springfield, Virginia finished third at 9:20.75. North Penn was lodged in between at 9:11.65.
“Jenna did well for her first time,” said Vlasic, who will run for the University of Pittsburgh next season. “Uche always does well, chasing and getting us to the front.”
Three other SOL teams competed in the same 4x800 heat -- Central Bucks West (10th, 9:34.21), Central Bucks East (16th, 9:56.40) and Pennridge (14th, 9:42.45).
“Today’s time was our best this season – and it qualified us for districts,” said Pennridge’s Monika Brill, who was joined on the foursome by Juliet Ryan, Madi Polson and Meghan Kriney.
“It was a good race for us. We all had food handoffs and good splits. Our main goal today was making districts.”
North Penn’s next race Thursday was the Girls Large School 4x100. The team of Jessica Brenfleck, Kathleen Stevenson, Natalie Kwortnik, and Sophia Broadhurst clocked a 48.30 to win their heat and qualify for Saturday’s “High School Girls Tri-State” race. The Knights’ time was 16th fastest in a field of 243 teams. “The weather was nice and it felt like a good race,” said Brenfleck. “When I handed the baton to Kat, I could tell we were in good shape.” Stevenson said, “Our handoffs were great. I passed the girl in lane eight right away.” Kwortnik said, “Once I got the baton, no-one came up on me.” |
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Broadhurst said, “When Natalie came in, we were definitely ahead. I just knew I had to finish strong.” The final race Thursday for the North Penn girls was the “High School Girls 4x400 Suburban National” event. North Penn crossed first at 3:47.61 with the team of Vlasic (58.45), Stevenson (57.60), Kwortnik (56.78), and Nwogwugwu (54.79). The Knights’ time was the 12th-fastest and earned them a berth in Saturday’s “High School Girls Philadelphia Area” race. North Penn set a new event record beating Central Bucks West’s 2013 time of 3:50.12. On Thursday, C.B. West finished second in the National race with a 3:38.11 and also earned a spot in the Philadelphia Area race. The Bucks’ quartet featured Vanessa Barrow (58.77), Lauren Olsen (1:00.38), Aly Logue (58.04), and Samantha Ronald (1:00.93). Another standout performance by a Suburban One League Thursday was Cheltenham’s 4x100 relay. The Panthers won their heat with a time of 45.87 – a time good enough to qualify then for Friday’s Championship of America race and Saturday’s "High School Girls Small School” race. Jamaica’s Edwin Allen had the fastest time in the meet at 44.76. The Hydel School from St. Catherine, Jamaica had the second fastest at 45.52. The third-fastest time of 45.87 was posted by both Cheltenham and the Bullis School from Potomac, Maryland. Bria Barnes was the Panthers’ leadoff runner followed by Ciana Fleming, who filled in for injured Brielle Lewis. Alexis Crosby ran the third leg and Chanel Brissett handled the anchor duties. In other action Thursday at Franklin Field, Upper Dublin’s Madison Langley-Walker finished ninth in the 400 hurdles at 1:01.98 and Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Taylor O’Brien placed 15th at 1:02.89. In high jump, Cheltenham’s Brianna Smith placed 11th at 5-5.75 and Central Bucks South’s Valerie Przekop was 23rd at 5-2.5. |
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Also, Cheltenham’s Mary Grace Rittler placed 19th in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 10:45.43.
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