PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, April 24–26 — After two picture-perfect days, the weather caused some havoc on the final session of the 129th Penn Relays, with two periods of intense downpours drenching Franklin Field. But over 40,000 fans turned out, capping a three-day total of 102,365. Over the course of the weekend, four colleges took the seven college men’s relay titles: South Florida (4 x 100 and 4 x 200), Texas A&M (4 x 400), Georgetown (4 x 800 and sprint medley) and Washington (4 x mile and distance medley).
South Florida completed the sprint double for the second year in a row, dominating Friday’s 4 x 200 in 1:21.06, more than a second ahead of Texas A&M (1:22.23). Conditions were less ideal for Saturday’s 4 x 100 final, but the Bulls were no less impressive, clocking 39.00 to finish well ahead of Pitt (39.76).
“Midway through the season, winning at a major meet like this is a big accomplishment,” said Alexavier Monfries, who ran the second leg on the 4×2 and third leg on the 4×1. “We still have bigger things to come, so this is a stepping stone to that.”
South Florida’s bid for a third victory was foiled in the 4 x 400 when Texas A&M’s Auhmad Robinson (44.98 split) overhauled Bulls anchor Gabriel Moronta coming off the final turn to take the win, 3:02.36 to 3:02.69.
On the longer end of the spectrum, Washington made the most of its trip east. In Friday’s DMR, Texas A&M’s Cutler Zamzow (45.83) had opened a lead on the 400 leg, then Sam Whitmarsh (1:46.74) maintained it on his 800. But on the anchor, Washington’s Nathan Green and Oregon’s Rheinhardt Harrison closed the gap on A&M’s Cooper Cawthra and that trio ran together until the final stretch. At that point Green, the NCAA 1500 champ in ’23, sprinted ahead for the win in 9:25.22, followed by Oregon (9:26.38) and Texas A&M (9:26.83). Gary Martin split 3:53.78 to bring Virginia (9:26.84) up for a close 4th.
The next day’s 4 x mile was run in the rain and immediately turned tactical, a marked change from last year’s barn burner, which saw three teams break 16:00. Instead, each leg became a sit-and-kick affair, with North Carolina and Villanova gapping the field at the final exchange. But Washington’s Green and Virginia’s Martin quickly joined UNC’s Ethan Strand and Nova’s Liam Murphy (who anchored the…
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