PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, June 13–16 — On a track that has seen far more than its share of legendary relay races, the final contest of the New Balance Nationals will be long remembered. The clash of the titans finally came in the girls 4×4 between Florida’s Montverde Academy and Maryland’s Bullis School.
On the opening leg, Bullis’s Tatum Lynn ran 54.1 to lead Montverde by a step with New Jersey’s Union Catholic close. Then Montverde’s Skyler Franklin blew the race open with a 51.1 blinder on leg 2. She handed off to Dasia Reed, whose 54.31 was just enough to stay ahead of the fast-closing 52.80 from Payton Payne of Bullis. On anchor, Alivia Williams hit 52.10 to bring Montverde home in a record-crushing 3:31.68, as Bullis also went under the High School Record of 3:35.17 it set at the Penn Relays with its 3:32.29, Morgan Rothwell anchoring in 52.38.
Montverde coach Gerald Phiri: “Their goal was to get me a national record as my Father’s Day gift. I think when you have great athletes and great people in one location, great things happen.”
Union Catholic decimated the HSR for the girls 4×8, its 8:34.20 slicing an even 7 seconds off the record the foursome had set at Penn. The splits: Jimmiea King (2:09.22), Peyton Hollis (2:09.00), Sophia Thompson (2:10.46), Paige Sheppard (2:05.53).
The HSR in the boys distance medley also fell hard. Crater High of Central Point, Oregon, running as the Oregon Distance Project, clocked a 9:44.30 to narrowly win over the 9:44.44 of Ridgefield (Connecticut), both teams well under the 9:49.78 that South Lakes (Reston, Virginia) clocked in ’01 with Alan Webb on anchor. Crater led off with Tayvon Kitchen at 3:00.03, then Nicholas Kube (49.48) and Caleb Doddington (1:52.75). A 100th apart at the last exchange, anchor Josiah Tostenson rallied for a 4:02.04 to edge the 4:02.18 of Ridgefield anchor Steven Hergenrother.
Cuthbertson (Waxhaw, North Carolina) won the girls DM in 11:20.44, the fastest outdoor time ever. Justine Preisano (3:29.12), Tatiana Blake (57.85), Stella Kermes (2:11.63) and Charlotte Bell (4:41.84) finished nearly a straightaway ahead.
One of the meet’s top performances didn’t even come in the finals. In his Friday 100 semi, after a weather delay, Floridian Christian Miller blitzed a 9.95 in 1.2 wind, just 0.02 shy of the High School Record he set…
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