The 106th running of the greatest track and field competition of the year was truly an experience for all Shen competitors involved. The 2000 Penn Relays were exciting from the first night to the final race on Saturday afternoon. Not only did we as competitors get to showcase our skills on a bigger scale than ever before, but we also had the once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the best athletes the world has to offer in track and field.
After leaving late from Shen the team comprised of seniors John Lynch, Darrell Andruski, Darryl Slater, Zach Hansen, Sean O'Brien, Shaun Horan, Chris Cooper, Sam Silver, and Mike Hauser, freshman Nick Jones, and coaches Matt Jones and Don Paretta arrived at the hallowed grounds of Philadelphia's Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. We were able to see several races including the college womens' 5000m race. After a dinner at the local food court, we were off to our hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ, where we saw Al Gore and went to sleep.
Friday morning's 6:00 wake up call was provided plenty of incentive for the 4x800 team of seniors John Lynch, Darrell Andruski, Zach Hansen, and Darryl Slater to get jacked up for their race at 9:30. After a quick Dunkin Donuts stop it was off to Franklin Field for the warm up. Local teams Burnt Hills and Albany Academy preceeded the Plainsmen in the small schools race. The Burnt Hills team ran 8:07 and the Albany Academy team was clocked at 8:05. After the warm up led by Andruski, who had been the Relays three times before, the team entered the paddock area. This roped off area is unlike anything at any other track meet. The officials keep the runners in the paddock for up to 20 minutes and competitors must do everything they can to stay warm. Finally, the time had come for Shen's heat. The foursome of seniors was separated and shoved out onto the track in their order. The gun came suddenly and the start was a violent one as Lynch managed to slide into the middle of the pack. He ran a 2:00 split and handed off to Andruski who also came through in 2:00. The 20 team race was still right as Andruski passed the baton to Hansen, who ran his leg in 2:03.2. Slater anchored with a 2:05.9 for a total time of 8:11. This time is the best for Shen so far this season and was good for a 12th place finish in the heat.
After the race, the Shen team took to the streets of Philly to buy some $5 T-shirts and check out the shady stolen gold watches. We also got a chance to sample the local cuisine of egg and sausage sub sandwiches.
Friday evening provided some excellent high school competition as Shaker was competiting in the DMR. They finished in the middle of the pack, but the highlight of the race was South Lakes, VA junior Alan Webb running a 3:59.9 1600m split for his team's second place finish behind St. Malachy's of Ireland. This is the fastest 1600m split ever at the Penn Relays. In the 3000m, Peak Running Camp alum Aaron Emery of Beaver River (NY) kicked in the final 300m to beat Dan Coval (PA).
The team checked out of our hotel and once again stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a jack up session before heading off to the final day of competition at the Relays. The 4x400 team was set to run in the 9:30 heat. They too were crammed into the paddock as the 4x800 guys held their warm up clothes. Chris Cooper led off with a 53.2 split and was about to hand off to Sam Silver when Silver was pushed down from behind and fell to the track. However, he was able to get up and run a 57.5 split. Shaun Horan followed up with a 54.5 and Sean O'Brien anchored the relay with a 55.5 split. The team's total time was 3:41.
After the warm down the team once again took to the mean streets of Philly in search of some quality deals on hot items. Some guys took the Pepsi Challenge multiple times and won blue rubber band braclets. In the afternoon, the stadium began to fill up in anticipation for the finals later in the day. Some highlights of Saturday afternoon included Shen grad John Jordan running a 3:44 in the Olympic Development 4x1500 and St. Malachy's winning the 4x800 despite dropping the stick in the beginning of the race. A Texas Longhorn's high jumper also set a new Penn Relays record with a --score-- effort. A collegiate record was set by TCU in the 4x200 as they ran a --score-- which actually beat the Olympic Development team's time of ---score--.
Perhaps the greatest part of the entire experience was watching Olympic gold medalists Maurice Green, Micheal Johnson, and Marion Jones compete in the "USA vs. The World" portion of the meet. Green anchored his 4x100 team to victory and Jones anchored the 4x200 team which set a new world record (1:27.46). Johnson anchored the winning 4x400 team in a performance which electrified the crowd of 45,203.
For more on the Penn Relays visit Dyestat (Articles) or Pennathletics.com (Official Results)
