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U.S. teams delight crowds on final day
By Joe Juliano, Inquirer Staff Writer / philly.com
The sun-splashed closing day of the 115th Penn Relays provided U.S. track and field with a measure of redemption yesterday and put the distance-relay teams of the Tennessee women and the Texas A&M sprinters in the record books.
Relay teams from the United States, made up primarily of 2008 Olympians, won four of the six relays in the "USA vs. The World" competition, delighting those in the crowd of 47,904 who weren't waving green and gold flags and chanting "Ja-mai-ca!"
The performances of the American men's and women's 4x100-meter relay teams in the 80-plus degree heat were particularly effective in diminishing the memory of last year's Olympics, when neither team made the finals in those events.
The USA Blue team of Walter Dix, Travis Padgett, Shawn Crawford, and Darvis Patton broke the carnival record with a time of 37.92 seconds. The women's quartet of Lauryn Williams, Allyson Felix, Mechelle Lewis and Carmelita Jeter crossed the line in 42.40, only an eyeblink off the record.
"We felt like this was our turf, our land, and we've got to defend our land," Crawford said.
Though Jamaica won one race, the women's sprint medley, it was one of the best performances of the day. The team of Sheri-Ann Brooks, Rosemarie Whyte, Maya Thompson and Kenia Sinclair clocked a world-best time of 3 minutes, 34.56 seconds, with Sinclair blazing an 800-meter anchor leg of 1:57.43.
But those weren't the only electrifying races that radiated across the track at Franklin Field. The indomitable women of Tennessee completed their sweep of the distance relays by setting a collegiate and carnival record of 8:17.91 in the 4x800.
It marked the sixth time that one women's team had captured all three distance relays at the same carnival. Sarah Bowman, who was named college women's athlete of the meet for relays, Chanelle Price (Easton High) and Phoebe Wright all were in on the hat trick.
Wright anchored the 4x800 racing only the clock, and the crowd helped carry her down the final stretch for an 800-meter split of 2:02.62.
"When I heard Chanelle's split and Sarah's split, I knew they put it out there on the line, and I wasn't going to let the hard work be in vain," Wright said. "I was running for them. It was like I had a competitor out there to chase."
Kimarra McDonald, a Rancocas Valley High grad, led off yesterday's race for Tennessee, two days after being part of the championship distance medley unit.
The Texas A&M sprinters posted victories yesterday in the men's 4x100 and the men's and women's 4x200. Adding the women's 4x100 won on Friday, the Aggies became the first team to sweep those four sprint relays since women's competition was added to the carnival in 1979.
A&M missed a chance at a fifth title when it finished third in the men's 4x400.
The U.S. 4x400 relay teams, both of which won gold medals last year in Beijing, showed they were in mid-season form. LaShawn Merritt anchored the men's team in 2:59.78, while Sanya Richards brought the women's team home in 3:23.08.
Richards' team sidestepped some misfortune on the first handoff when leadoff leg Monica Hargrove stepped on the back of Natasha Hastings' foot, causing Hastings to run her 400 meters without a shoe.
"I did think to stop and then I thought about everyone else," Hastings said. "So knowing who I was running with and being in this arena, I couldn't stop running. This is a first for me. What a place for it to happen."
But Hastings could laugh about it, and, as it turned out, all the Americans who competed yesterday, even those who didn't win, left with smiles on their faces.
"I am so pleased with all my teammates," Richards said. "We are motivated by Beijing, and we wanted to come out and prove that we are the best track and field team in the world."
Jamaica had hoped to make a better showing in the men's 4x100, in which they sported three of the four members of last year's Olympic team that set a world record. But former world record-holder Asafa Powell pulled up about 40 meters short of the finish line with a left leg injury.
The USA vs. the World men's distance medley relay was won by Kenya in 9:22.04.
In other Championship of America races yesterday, Arkansas won the men's 4x-mile relay for the 20th time at the carnival, clocking a time of 16:16.11; Texas used a strong anchor run by Jacob Hernandez to outduel Georgetown and take the men's 4x800 in 7:16.33; and the 4x400 relays were won by the Florida State men in 3:01.54 and the UTech women in 3:30.61. |
