Villanova may have been the defending champions of the college men’s 4xMile relay, but this year’s event belonged to the home team in dramatic fashion.
Host Penn won a thrilling 4xMile relay for the first time since 1950 and took home its 10th all-time title in the event on Saturday at the Penn Relays.
The Quakers trailed until late in the race when senior Thomas Awad burst ahead in the final 200 meters to pull away from Iona, Indiana and Georgetown. Penn finished with a winning time of 16:26.30, its best in a victory at the event.
Penn entered the final leg in fourth before Iona’s Liam Dee set the pace in the last mile. Awad remained close with Indiana’s Jason Crist and Georgetown’s Ahmed Bile before moving with them to the front.
"Back stretch, I was definitely thinking there's a moment I have to go and I got to wait a little longer, keep them close,” Awad said, “because I just wanted to give it one strong push and you can only sprint for 100, 150 meters or so, so I just had to hold my pace and be patient to the moment to where I could push it all the way in."
The heralded senior’s performance came following juniors Chris Hatler and Nick Tuck kept Penn close after senior Keaton Naff led off the race. Defending champion Villanova was in the race until the final leg, but the Wildcats could not sustain their spot near the front of the pack after Jordy Williams’ final leg.
“If you look at that anchor carry, there were some interesting things,” Penn coach Steve Dolan said. “Villanova went hard by putting Jordy on the third leg, try to break it open, but Nick didn't let that happen and Chris ran a great second leg, so they really put Tommy in position.”
Indiana finished second in 16:26.84, just ahead of Georgetown (16:27.52) and Iona (16:29.12). Villanova finished a somewhat distant fifth in 16:34.64.
Penn had momentum going into the race after a third place finish in the men’s distance medley relay on Friday. Hatler, who ran first leg of the DMR on Friday, set the pace in the 4xMile’s second leg to help set the stage for Awad’s dramatic finish, topping, among others, Bile, who topped him yesterday.
“The emotional moment was with 150 [meters] to go,” Naff said, “and [Dolan] came up and grabbed my shoulders, shouted in my ear something along the lines of, 'He's gonna do it!’”
“You don't bet against Awad in the last 100,” Dolan added.
After the same four runners made cross country nationals in the fall, Penn has brought its program back to national prominence under Dolan.
“This is always a dream to win a wheel, to win a big relay here,” Awad said. “To finally do it is awesome. … Our time is now and I think we've finally built a team is one of the top track programs, top cross country programs in the country.”
Jamaica upsets US in men’s 4x100 USA vs. the World
The United States trotted out a strong lineup for the much anticipated 4x100 race in the USA vs. the World portion of Penn Relays.
The top team of Mike Rogers, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Isiah Young figured to be neck and neck with Jamaica, and they were … for 300 meters.
However, Gay and Young butchered the final handoff, disqualifying themselves and handing the race in a stunning finish to Jamaica, which won with a 38.70 mark. The No. 2 US group (USA Blue) finished second at 39.02 while the top team (USA Red) finished with an unofficial 39.74, fourth place to St. Kitts & Nevis.
"Beating the USA, you know, they are our main rivals," Jamaican runner Julian Forte said. "So this is a good sign for this time of the year, and we can only get stronger."
The USA women were much more successful in the 4x100. Anchored by three-time Olympic medalist Carmelita Jeter, the USA Red squad won with a 42.61 mark to Jamaica’s 42.90.
The U.S. swept the 4x200 and 4x400 races on both the men’s and women’s side. With Gay sitting out the 200, Rogers, Gatlin and Young helped get redemption with Wallace Spearmon joining them.
Three-time gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross anchored the 4x400 victory for the women in her final Penn Relays event ever.
Penn just off the mark in discus throw, Olympic Development Mile
In 2015, then-junior discus thrower Sam Mattis became Penn’s first individual national champion since 2003. However, the now-senior has been unable to match that performance at home in the Penn Relays.
Mattis, who won the discus throw at the Penn Relays in high school, came in third in his final Penn Relays, finishing behind two throwers from the University of the West Indies at Mona in Jamaica.
Fedrick Dacres of UWI Mona won with a 65.19 meter throw while Traves Smikle was second at 63.42m. Mattis’ top throw was 59.92 meters, off from his personal best 67.45m set earlier this year.
Fellow Penn senior Ashely Montgomery came in sixth in the Olympic Development Mile. Her time of 4:44.53 was best a college affiliated runner in the race.
