Well I just got back from the first day of Penn Relays, and what an exciting day it was.

     I have to say the atmosphere at Franklin Field was different from any meet I’ve been since I’ve been on the track and field beat. Attendance was over 23,000 today, and the crowd was into every event.

     Congrats to the Mount Vernon girls 4×100 relay team of Shamika Mindingall, Sasha-Gay Richards, Michelle McCrae, and Kenina Bonnerfor taking its heat.  The Knights narrowly missed qualifying for the championship race but they will compete in the large school final later today. Dan Marra will be keeping an eye on that race and all the action later today before he heads down to Philadelphia on Saturday.

     The Urusuline 4×800 relay also missed qualifying for the championship race by a whisker. Just .08 seconds kept the Koalas from running in that race later today. Still, an impressive time of 9:14.61 for Rosie Crean, Katie Sullivan, Jackie McCarthy and Meghan Brown.

     Jen Clayton placed third in the long jump, her best jump a 5.91-meter leap. Clayton was definitely nervous competing in front of so many people but her long-jumping is clearly getting more consistent. Clayton’s fellow Mounty Shelby Greany ran a strong race in the 3,000, finishing 5th. Greany is really off to a good start in the outdoor season and I have a feeling we may see her post some spectacular times later on. She told me after the race she’s especially looking forward to the steeplechase later this season….WATCH OUT!

OK, I’m probably going to make another post tomorrow, but after driving back and forth to Philly today I am TIRED so I’m going to catch some zzzzzzs