Fast foursome for the Explorers
NP’s 4x100 has special chemistry
La Salle’s 4x400-meter relay was a senior-heavy group, savoring its fast, final strides around historic Franklin Field on Saturday.
“I love it. The atmosphere is like nothing else I ever ran in so it’s incredible,” said senior Peter Nelson.
“We felt pretty confident. We knew it was gonna be a battle between us and Prep and that’s what it ended up being.”
“So excited,” added fellow senior Jack McDonough. “Last time at Penn Relays, it was a great time.”
The Explorers cranked out an impressive 3:22.12, bumping up against the school record — they need barely a second to surpass that — and finishing second out of 12 schools in the Philadelphia Catholic race.
La Salle enjoyed the aspect of taking on its annual rivals.
“That’s the part that’s most fun,” said junior Ryan O’Neill. “Knowing that you have that, you push yourself. We were right with (St. Joe’s) the whole time. A little here or there and we probably would have gotten it.”
St. Joe’s was the only squad to outrace the Explorers, crossing the finish line with a winning time of 3:18.11. La Salle’s foursome of Nelson, O’Neill, McDonough and senior Alex Sislo captured runner-up honors by more than five seconds. Area squads Archbishop Wood placed ninth and Lansdale Catholic raced to 11th.
“I love it. The atmosphere is like nothing else I ever ran in so it’s incredible.” — Peter Nelson, member of La Salle’s 4x400
Tight group
From running together at Penndale Middle School to teaming up at North Penn, and to next year when they’ll both run for Bloomsburg, there’s some pretty good synergy when Jessica Brenfleck hands the baton off to Kat Stevenson.
“Kat and I have been running at Penn Relays since eighth grade,” Brenfleck said, “so to start then and finish off together is pretty cool.”
The duo joined sophomores Sophia Broadhurst and Natalie Kwortnik to place third in the 4x100 TriState Race Saturday afternoon at packed Franklin Field.
The Knights ran an impressive 47.92, only a tenth of a second off the best ever time for NP in the event.
“We kept running 48.3 over and over again,” Brenfleck said, “so to finally get over that hump was really good.”
After coming close the past two years, the Knights finally broke through to Day Two in the 4x1.
“This is the first time we ever made the finals,” Stevenson said. “The first year, we had a really good relay but one of my teammates wasn’t on the track when I was running. So it got messed up and then last year, I don’t know what happened. But this year, we have a really fast relay.”
And there could be more to come.
“Hopefully this team will stay strong and pull out a couple wins,” Brenfleck said.
Panthers outdo themselves
Cheltenham keeps raising the standard in that Philly Area 4x1, beating its own event record with a time of 45.94.
The foursome of Bria Barnes, Giani Fleming, Alexis Crosby and Chanel Brissett was impossible to beat.
“Our handoffs were a lot cleaner (than Friday),” said Brissett, a senior who heads to USC next season. “I’ve really had some great times here. I’m gonna miss my team.”
Saturday’s surroundings upped the intensity, and the Panthers delivered.
“It’s amazing. The crowd — we just feed off their energy,” Crosby said. “It’s just an amazing place to be, an amazing place to run.”