2013 Penn Relays Notebook

Scott Huff featured some of the SOL’s top performances at the 2013 Penn Relays. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.

By Scott Huff

The Penn Relays have been run since 1895 at the University of Pennsylvania, and the celebrated event has attracted superior track and field talent on both the scholastic and collegiate level since day one.  The magnificent three-day affair at Franklin Field provided life long memories for the Suburban One League athletes who were presented the wonderful opportunity to compete last weekend.

Penn Relays – Thursday Snapshot – Amanda Benninghoff – Council Rock South
Council Rock South senior pole vaulter Amanda Benninghoff captured third place at the prestigious Penn Relays with a jump of 12-01.5.

Wow?

“I guess I was okay with it,” said Benninghoff, who has her sights set on 12-10 to 13-0 for the outdoor season this spring.  “It is a tough meet to peak at, and I found out I still have some things to work on.”

How did Benninghoff celebrate her third place finish?

“I worked hard over the weekend to implement some changes in what I could do better,” said Benninghoff.  “I need to put everything all together. To me this is the start of the season.”

The calendar at the close of the spring season is full of huge scholastic meets – the SOL National Conference meet, the District One Championships, and the PIAA State Championships.  The SOL National Conference (May 10 and 11) meet will be held at William Tennent High School, the District One Championships (May 17 and 18) will be held at Coatesville High School, and the PIAA State Championships (May 24 and 25) will be held at Shippensburg University.

“Amanda has a tremendous focus on what she wants to accomplish,” said Council Rock South head track coach Deric Lynch,  “When it is time to compete – there is no better competitor.  She is a very consistent vaulter with great technique, and she challenges herself to improve.

“When Tory Worthen left South we thought we would never see another pole vaulter of her ability,” added Lynch of the eight-time Ivy League champion at Princeton.  “But when Amanda came into the program, people were telling me that she would come in with the talent to break her records.  Those people weren’t wrong.”

Benninghoff will take her wonderful talents to the University of North Carolina next year, but she has some unfinished business left to do at CR South.

“I have goals I want to reach – like 13-feet,” said Benninghoff.  “These next few weeks are going to be very exciting.”

For us all.

Thursday – April 25, 2013

• Veronica Eder of Central Bucks East placed 20^th in the 3000 meters with a clocking of 10:13.27.
• Kayla Coley of Cheltenham placed 22^nd in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:06.31.
• Taylor Hojnacki of Central Bucks South placed 19^th in the discus throw with a toss of 104-2.
• Ella Fox of Pennridge placed 15^th in the javelin with a heave of 118-02.
• Amanda Benninghoff of Council Rock South placed third in the pole vault with a jump of 12-01.5.
• Marissa Sheva of Pennridge placed 6^th in the mile run with a clocking of 4:57.88.
• Sara Sargent of Pennsbury placed 10^th in the mile run with a time of 5:01.52.

Penn Relays – Friday Snapshot – Ross Wilson Council Rock North & CR North Distance Medley Relay
Council Rock North junior Ross Wilson was thrilled with both his experience and results to showcase his talents in the 3000 meter run at the Penn Relays.  Wilson captured an 8^th place finish and ran a personal best time of 8:29.71 – a full 11 seconds off his former personal best.

“If you are going to establish a new personal best, there is no better place to do that than the Penn Relays,” said Wilson.  “The first 1000 meters was slow, but things continued to get faster and faster.  The next thing I knew, I ran my personal best.

“To accomplish that in front over 10,000 fans is incredible,” added Wilson.  “I’m used to running in front of about 20 parents in a dual meet.  It was great.”

“It was a great, great race by Ross,” said Council Rock North head coach Dave Marrington.  “It was the second fastest time ever by a Council Rock North runner behind only and 8:27 run by Keith Capecci five or so years ago.  And Capecci ended up being the captain of both the Villanova track and cross country team which tells you a lot about his ability.”

The Council Rock North Distance Medley Relay was invited to run in the prestigious Championship of America relay, and the Indians finished 12^th with a clocking of 10:32.51.

“Even bad times on the track are good times to remember,” said Marrington.  “Our DMR was honored to be asked to run in the race, but they didn’t run their best race. In the end, though, they will all have a story about the time they competed at the Penn Relays.”

The Rock North foursome consisted of Mac Emery, Dean Dupree, Rob Simmons, and James Zingarini.  Emery and Zingarini are seniors, while both Dupree and Simmons are juniors.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted, but it is always fun to be able to compete at the Penn Relays,” said Emery who will attend Dartmouth College next year.  “That is the last DMR of the season, but this relay will have a chance to compete both at districts and states.  We will have more opportunities to do well.”

Both Emery and Wilson will compete in those districts and states in the same event – the 3200 meters.

“Both Mac and Ross get a chance to work out together, and both are pretty much of equal ability,” said Marrington.  “They are teammates first – and competitors second.”

“It is great to be able to work out with someone as good as Mac,” said Wilson.  “I don’t know what it is going to be like next year when he isn’t around.  We give each other a lot encouragement.”

“There is a huge benefit to working out every day with someone that is going to push you,” said Emery.  “But once the race starts, it’s every man for himself.”

Friday – April 26, 2013

• The Cheltenham relay consisting of Casey Trautman, John Lewis, Fabrice Agbadan, and Kyree Willis-Lear placed 2^nd  in the 4 x 800 (small school) Relay with a clocking of 7:56.66.
• The Upper Merion foursome of Austin Cooper, Kevin Crane, Zak Khattabi, and Chris Sanders finished in 9^th place in the 4 x 800 (small school) Relay with a time of 8:06.08.
• The Bensalem quartet of Brad Rivera, Armand Cox-Finn, Matt French, and Kyle Francis finished in 2^nd place in the 4 x 800 (large school) Relay with a clocking of 7:47.94.
• The Central Bucks East relay consisting of Mike Donello, Frank Brophy, Oliver Boucher, and Alec Brand took 14^th place in the 4 x 800 (large school) Relay with a time of 8:02.77.
• The North Penn foursome of Chris Jeffries, Dontae Stewart, Keith Earle, Jr., and Brett Fenstermacher placed 3^rd in the Freshman 4 x 100 Relay with a clocking of 45.18.
• The Central Bucks West quartet of Ryan Walsh, Carrick Rock Fortuna, Ryan McLlhinney, and Carter Zerseck placed 6^th in the Freshman 4 x 100 Relay with a time of 47.95.
• The Hatboro-Horsham Hatter relay consisting of Sahn Yoon, Steve Lee, Bogdon Rojek, and Bobby Gablein placed 8^th in the Freshman 4 x 100 Relay with a clocking of 48.18.
• The Pennsbury foursome of Erin O’Connell, Olivia Sargent, Erica Grey, and Sara Sargent finished in 6^th place in the 4 x 800 Championship of American Race with a time of 9:10.39.
• The Cheltenham quartet of Ciara Leonard, Janiel Slowly, Kayla Coley, and Katelyn Jackson placed 2^nd in the 4 x 100 (small school) Relay with a clocking of 47.44.
• The Pennridge relay consisting of Taylor Chapman, Ariana Przyblyowski, Lindsey Sheehan, and Natalia Pinkney finished 2^nd with a time of 47.55 in the 4 x 100 (large school) Relay.
• The Council Rock North foursome of Mac Emery, Dean Dupree, Rob Simmons, and James Zingarini finished in 14^th place in the Distance Medley Championship of America with a clocking of 10:32.51.
• Connor Harriman of Pennsbury placed 11^th in the mile run with a time of 4:18.01.
• Joey Logue of Pennridge placed 14^th in the mile run with a clocking of 4:18.63.
• Ross Wilson of Council Rock North took 8^th place in the 3000 meters with a clocking of 8:29.71.
• Conner Quinn of Hatboro-Horsham finished in 15^th place in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:34.78.

Penn Relays – Saturday Snapshot – Brad Rivera – Bensalem
Bensalem senior Brad Rivera lovingly calls head coach Mary Ellen Malloy the “Evil Genius.”

“She is the evil genius - she puts together the game plan and I try to execute it,” said Rivera, who has never had another track coach his entire running life.  “We have the greatest athlete-coach relationship that any athlete could ever have.  I am going to miss her when I go to college next year – and I’m sure she’ll miss me.”

Rivera – who has not committed to a school next year but is considering Penn State and South Plains (Texas) – just might not have to miss Malloy too much.

“I threaten to buy a house near the college he is going to attend, and offer to be a volunteer coach,” said Malloy.  “I have been with Brad such a long – long time.’

Rivera had a full day of action on Saturday at the Penn Relays with 2^nd place finish in the Suburban One League National Conference 4 x 400 relay; a 5^th place finish in the 800-meter High School Championship of America relay; and a 1^st place finish in the 400-meter Philadelphia Area Relay.

“I really look forward to participating in the Penn Relays,” said Rivera.  “It is just an awesome feeling to be able to go out and compete with some of the best runners from all over.  To compete against the best of the best makes it a whole lot of fun and very competitive.

“We would have liked to have finished a little better in the 800-meter Championship of America,” added Rivera.  “Three races in that time span was tough on recovery time.”

“Everyone knows that they didn’t run their best 800,” said Malloy of the talented foursome of Rivera, Armand Cox-Finn, Matt French, and Kyle Francis.  “But that was three pretty tough races in the same day, and they might be disappointed with the result but not the effort.”

In the two 4 x 100 relays, the Owls continued their intense rivalry with Pennridge.  In the SOL National race, the Rams edged Bensalem with a winning time of 3:17.55 compared to 3:18.54 by the Owls.  In the rematch in the 4 x 100 Philadelphia Area Relay, Bensalem crossed the finish line first in 3:18.52 compared to 3:18.85 for the Rams.  Rivera runs along with Cox-Finn, Kerron Holley, and Ohyle Elijah.

“We know all about the Pennridge kids, and the rivalry is a good one,” said Malloy.  “There is nothing nasty about it, we just seem to match up well with them and them with us.  We are going to see a lot of them in districts and states.”

“Pennridge is a cool rivalry, and it is what makes sports fun to compete in,” said Rivera.  “They beat us early on Saturday, but we came back and beat them later in the day.  We are going to have to work hard if we want to be able to remain on top of them.”

“It says a lot about Brad that he can compete with the best in both the 4 x 100 and the 4 x 800,” added Malloy.  “He just has tremendous range in his running ability.  He is something special.”

Saturday – April 27, 2013

• The Pennridge relay consisting of Joey Logue, John Kim, Michael Class, and Nick Stenderowicz placed 1^st in the 4 x 400 SOL National with a clocking of 3:17.55
• The Bensalem foursome of Brad Rivera, Kerron Holley, Armand Cox-Finn, and Ohyle Elijah finished 2^nd in the 4 x 400 SOL National with a time of 3:18.54,
• The Pennsbury quartet of Anthony Bullaro, Charles Snorweah, Alek Sauer, and Francis Jajua took 3^rd in the 4 x 400 SOL National with a clocking of 3:20.46
• The Wissahickon relay consisting of Khalil Byrd, Cornell Dixon, Mike Harris, and Dave Stellato captured 1^st place in the 4 x 400 American with a time of 3:16.76.
• The Cheltenham quartet of Kyree Willis-Lear, Cordell Richardson, Isaiah Morris, and John Lewis took 2^nd place in the 4 x 400 American with a clocking of 3:21.55.
• The Upper Moreland foursome of Daniel Baynard, Tyler Whitmore, and David Baynard finished 3^rd in the 4 x 400 American with a time of 3:25.01.
• The Pennridge relay consisting of Taylor Chapman, Ariana Przyblyowski, Lindsey Sheehan, and Zoe Williams captured 3^rd place in the 4 x 100 Tri-State relay with a clocking of 47.68.
• The Central Bucks South quartet of Devan Accurso, Jetaeia Lewis, Amber Steigerwalt, Christina Cianciarulo took 6^th place in the 4 x 100 Tri-State relay with a time of 48.27.
• The Neshaminy foursome of Jess Stecklein, Erin Farrell, Megan Schafer, and Daria Pressley finished in 7^th place in the 4 x 100 Tri-State relay with a clocking of 48.53.
• The Cheltenham relay consisting of Steve Staples, Mark Thompson, Isaac Lewis, and Christian Brissett captured 6^th place in the 4 x 100 (small school) with a time of 42.25.
• The Norristown quartet of Mike Brown, Joe Smith, Andrew Dillon, and Tyron Leach took 4^th place in the 4 x 100 (large school) with a clocking of 42.43.
• The Bensalem foursome of Brad Rivera, Armand Cox-Finn, Matt French, and Kyle Francis finished in 5^th place in the 800-meter High School Championship of America with a time of 7:49.54.
• The Bensalem relay consisting of Brad Rivera, Armand Cox-Finn, Kerron Holley, and Ohlye Elijah captured 1^st in the 4 x 400 Philadelphia Area Relay with a clocking of 3:18.52.
• The Pennridge quartet of Joey Logue, John Kim, Michael Class, and Nick Stenderowicz finished in 2^nd place in the 4 x 400 Philadelphia Area Relay with a time of 3:18.85.
• The Pennsbury foursome of Anthony Bullaro, Charles Snorweah, Alek Sauer, and Francis Jujua took 3^rd in the 4 x 400 Philadelphia Area Relay with a clocking of 3:19.21.
• The Central Bucks West relay consisting of Lizanne Furst, Courtney Taylor, Kelsey Horst, and Jamila Branch captured 2^nd in the 4 x 400 Philadelphia Area Relay with a time of 3:51,40.
• The Pennsbury quartet of Uche Onuaha, Sara Sargent, Olivia Sargent, and Nini Rogers finished in 5^th place in the 4 x 400 Philadelphia Area Relay with a clocking of 3:54.37.
• Chris Spadaro of Council Rock South captured 10^th place in the long jump with a leap of 22-0.75.
• Joe Smith of Norristown finished in 22^nd place in the long jump with a leap of 21-2.75.