Friday, April 29, 2011
Posted: 6:15 p.m.
By Dave Zeitlin
CSNPhilly.com Contributor
Following his dead sprint through the final 200 meters of the College Mens Distance Medley Championship of America, Villanova senior Matthew Gibney could have fallen to the Franklin Field track in exhaustion.
Instead, buoyed by the exuberance of lifting the Wildcats to victory in Fridays wildly competitive race at the 117th Penn Relays, Gibney continued his sprint before jumping into his teammates arms.
Wining this race at Franklin Field has become a habit for Villanovawhich has captured the DMR title 24 times at the Penn Relays, including two in the past three yearsbut it certainly never gets old.
I was pretty confident with about 250 meters to go, said Gibney, the Wildcats star miler from Australia. You can sort of tell looking at other runners how well theyre going and how much they have left. There wasnt the pressure that I expected.
Brian Tetreault, who ran for Cinnaminson High School in South Jersey, ran the opening 1,200-meter leg in 2:57.86, Carlton Bowers followed with a 46.89 in the 400 and Upper Dublin graduate Samuel Ellison ran the 1:51.03 in the 800 to set up Gibney, who anchored in 4:02.16.
Villanova was right near the front throughout the race, but down the stretch there were at least five other teams, including heavy favorite BYU, that could have wonwhich made the Wildcats thrilling triumph even more special.
Im in love with the Penn Relays today, Villanova mens track coach Marcus OSullivan said. I cant tell you how proud I am. It was phenomenal for me to watch. Its just an incredible experience to watch something as exciting and thrilling and performed in such classic style at the end.
Gibney, who was a member of Villanovas 2009 DMR team that also won at the Penn Relays, said there was less pressure on the Wildcats this year because there were fewer expectations.
And as the Villanova women showed, expectations can sometimes be a burden. Just ask star runner Sheila Reid, who was so focused on the possibilities that were ahead of her that she forgot to check the hazards to her rear Friday afternoon.
Running the anchor leg for Villanovas 4x1500 womens relay team, Reid tried to chase down Georgetowns Emily Infeld to give the Wildcats the championship they were so desperately looking for.
But in the end, both Reid and Infeld were passed by an inspired Caroline King, who lifted Boston College to the coveted College Womens 4x1500 Championship of America crown in 17:25.19.
The favored Hoyas (17:26.25), winners of Thursdays Distance Medley Relay Championship of America, finished second while Villanova (17:28.12) came in a respectable third place.
The thing with Penn Relays is the crowd really reacts to whats going on, Reid said. I was coming hard after Infeld and Boston College was coming. What I didnt know is that the crowd was indicating that someone was coming up behind me too. I didnt really pick up on that. So thats my mistake for just focusing on what was going on in front of me and not behind me.
Before Reid took the baton for the final 1,500 meters, Ariann Neuts (4:21.7), Emily Lipari (4:26.9) and Bogdana Mimic (4:26.1) had solid runs to keep the Wildcats within striking distance. Starting in third place, Reid made up some ground to draft off King before passing her with a half-lap to go.
At that point, Reid, the 2010 cross country individual national champion, said she felt like she still had another gear she could use to chase down Infeld. But she didnt have as much left in the tank as King, who sprinted past two of the nations best distance runners down the stretch for the surprising B.C. win.
I thought I kind of shook King and it was just me coming after Emily, Reid said. It seemed like King kind of timed her kick perfectly, so props to her.
While the disappointment of not winning any Penn Relays watches stung for the Reid and the other Wildcats talented distance runners, they can still rest easier knowing they performed well, especially after their mistake-filled 13th-place finish in Thursdays DMR.
Still, with such lofty expectations placed upon them, they feel dont coming in third place enough.
I just kind of wanted more from myself for the team, Reid said. Thursday was heartbreaking stuff but its out of your control. I felt this was a little more in my control and I let it slip away, so thats a little more difficult.
Champions of America
A few Philly-area high school relay teams had big days Thursday to quality for Fridays High School Girls 4x800 Championship of America.
But none were able to compete with Jamaican powerhouse Edwin Allen, which won the race in a blistering 8:39.22, followed by Long Beach Poly (CA) and Holmwood Tech (Jamaica).
Strath Haven (9:09.10) lost its grip on third place at the very end, falling to Holmwood Tech by two-hundredths of a second. As for the other local schools, West Chester Henderson (9:16.79) came in eighth, Central Bucks West (9:20.16) 10th and Notre Dame Academy (9:24.22) 11th.
In another marquee high school girls Championship of America race Friday, Long Beach Poly (Ca.) beat a slew of Jamaican schools to win the 4x100 title in front of the frenzied crowd.
In the college Championship of America races, Texas A&M won the 4x100 womens title in 43.24 seconds, Texas Tech won the mens shuttle hurdles title in 54.67 seconds, and Eastern Kentucky won the womens shuttle hurdles title in 56.57 seconds.
Party hosts
In the college womens 4x100 ECAC final, the Penn womens team of Paige Madison, Kali Strother, Leah Brown and Gabrielle Piper came in fourth in 46.74 seconds, a little more than one second behind winner Pittsburgh. Brown, Piper, Strother and Nonyerem Onyeador also had a good run in their 4x200 heat (1:40.33) to qualify for Saturdays ECAC final on their home track.
In one of the days biggest races, the Quakers DMR mens team of James Finucane, Brian Rosenthal, Matt Chylak and Michael Cunningham came in 12th (9:49.36) in the Championship of America.
Ready to rock
Last year, Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt shook Franklin Field with a record-setting performance in front of a record-setting crowd.
The final day of the Penn Relays wont be quite as exciting this year, but the USA vs. the World events should still pack a pretty big punch, as they typically do.
If youre planning to come, heres a list of Saturdays USA vs. the World races: Womens Sprint Medley (1:55 p.m.), Womens 4x100 (2:35 p.m.), Mens 4x100 (3 p.m.), Mens Distance Medley (4:10 p.m.), Womens 4x400 (4:55 p.m.), Mens 4x400 (5:15 p.m.).
Email Dave Zeitlin at djzeitlin@gmail.com
Related: Gatlin returns to competition in US at Penn Relays