PHILADELPHIA—It was the perfect day for a track meet, as the best from all over the world met at Franklin Field in Philadelphia for the mecca of all track meets, The Penn Relays. North Jersey high schools were well-represented on the first day, which showcased high school girls' events.
The 4x800 was the first race the Hilltoppers competed in. In the small schools division, the Summit Hilltoppers team of Katie Watson, Isabella Yozzi, Rebecca Cummins and Kearsley Olcott was out on the track in heat two. Watson jostled for position with the other runners.
"It was tough because first we had a false start so then we had to start all over again," said Watson, "and then it was rough because the girl fell in front of me. It was fast. But it was fine. It was fun."
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The race was tight for the first two laps, and a clean hand-off put the Hilltoppers solidly in the middle of the pack. Yozzi went out fast and passed a couple girls in her second leg.
"It felt okay," Yozzi said. "I PR'ed (personal record) today, so I guess that's good. It's pretty incredible to be here. It's a different setting than we normally run around, and it gives you a lot of hype. There's tons of people cheering. It's just a good experience."
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She had a clean handoff to Cummings who didn't give up, though the team behind her ran a tight race.
"I've run faster before," said Cummings, "so I wish I'd run a little faster on the first lap. But I'm happy we got the chance to come here. It's a lot of fun."
Wake Forest-bound Olcott took the baton for the final leg.
"I felt good," Olcott said. "I went out a little too fast, but I felt good and I ran a good race. I was here last year, so it's really exciting to be here a second time."
The Summit girls took 13th in their heat with a time of 9:45:31.
The girls then had some time off before their next race, which was the high school girls 4x400m relay.
The Summit 4x400m team of Nicola Hallenborg, Kearsley Olcott, Katie Watson, Rebecca Cummings ran a race to be proud of. The girls finished in a time of 4:22.54.
"I just told them not to be nervous," Olcott said. "Just run your race and don't be intimidated by the other teams."
The Summit boys take to the track on Saturday when Mark Jones competes in the high jump championship and the boys' 4x400m relay team gets a chance to run.
4x800, Large Schools Division:
Columbia (TyVonna Johnson, Adebunmi Gbadebo, Jade Johnson, and Brittney Jackson) 9:11:47 which was the third fastest overall time. Columbia will compete in the High School Girls Championship of America 4x800m race today.
Pole Vault:
Kayla Polcari of Ridgewood: 3.6m (3rd)
Chelsea Hartigan of Ramapo: 3.5m (6th)
4x100m, Small Schools Division
Indian Hills (Gianna Ditommaso, Dana Maloney, Sarah Kneip and Katie Johnson) 54.8s.
Hoboken (Deidamia Estrella, Dayanara Morales, Diamond Gonzalez and Kaylah Linton) 57.9s.
4x100m, Large School Division
Westfield (Ashley Edwards, Hannah Kronick, Alex Hawkins, and Katie Ponce) 54.05s.
Columbia (Whitney Jackson, Jasmine Carter, Ambur Ballew and Kayann Richards) 47.28s
Ridge (Courtney Wu, Maggie Hanna, Samantha Menza and Jackie Madden) 50.95s
Ridgewood 4x100m team ran a time of 53.13
Triple Jump:
Kelly Burke of Cranford: 12.08m
4x400m, Small Schools Division:
Hoboken (Deidamia Estrella, Diamond Gonzalez, Kaylah Linton, and Dayanara Morales) DQ
Westfield (Katie Ponce, Sophia DeVita, Kelly Irving, and Ashley Edwards)
Indian Hills (Katie Johnson, Nikki Felice, Sarah Polansky, and Kayla Savage) DNF
Cranford (Kate Evans, Megan Schetelich, Devon Cacchione, Rebecca Shimonov) 4:17.17.
4x400m, Large Schools Division:
Ridgewood (Sarah Devita, Charlotte Criqui, Macaela McPadden, Victoria Oliva) 4:11.50.
Ridge (Meredith Bozzi, Jackie Madden, Courtney Wu, Allison Hodges) 4:01.84
Columbia (TyVonna Johnson, Kelsey Jackson, Brittney Jackson, Kayann Richards) 3:43.72- Columbia is in the Championship of America tomorrow evening.
