Hazel Clark anchoring the victorious USA Red Sprint Medley Relay squad at the Penn Relays (© Kirby Lee)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA There wasn’t a World best in the women’s Sprint Medley Relay in the USA vs. The World competition in the Penn Relays for the first time in two years. But Hazel Clark was just as elated after running the 800m anchor on the USA Red team - along with with Rachelle Smith (200m), Miki Barber (200m) and Monica Hargrove (400m) - to a 3:38.89 victory before a crowd of 46,363 at Franklin Field on the final day of the Penn Relays on Saturday (28).
Clark, a New Jersey native who was a member of the U.S. teams that set World bests of 3:37.42 in 2005 and 3:37.16 in 2006, has been a fixture at Penn since competing in the 113-year-old meet while attending nearby Columbia High.
Homecoming for Clark and Barber Twins
On Saturday, Clark was joined in the Sprint Medley Relay by training partner Treniere Clement on the runner-up USA Blue team (3:42.30), with coach J.J. Clark and friends and family on hand.
Clark said that she was more nervous competing in the Penn Relays than at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Clark was the brunt of jokes by Bershawn Jackson on Friday when the intermediate hurdler caught her doing wind sprints down the hallway of the athlete’s hotel.
“He said `It’s just the Penn Relays',” Clark said. “'I don’t understand why you are tossing and turning.' For me, it is so much more. I grew up running in this meet. And I don’t get to run for my country very often. It means a lot to me and I take it very, very seriously."
So does Barber, the twin sister of Me’Lisa Barber, the 2006 World Indoor 60m champion. Barber competed at Penn as a student at Montclair High in Jew Jersey and as a collegian at South Carolina. Saturday was Barber’s first appearance at Penn after battling injuries for the last three years.
“This is very important for my family to see me run, and I love the crowd,” Barber said.
USA 1-2 Finish in Women’s Sprint Medley
The Sprint Medley turned into a U.S. showcase after a Jamaican team failed to finish following a botched exchange after the first 200m leg between Nadine Palmer and Sherone Simpson.
Palmer, running in the eighth lane, was leading but fell after she was bumped into lane seven. As she tried to get up, Barber tried to jump over her but hit her leg on Palmer’s head while the partisan Jamaican crowd fell into silence.
“There was a lot of confusion going on,” Barber said. “Hopefully, she is OK because my leg is really sore now.”
Clark took the baton comfortably in the lead to bring her team home with a controlled 2:01.8 split. The effort was more evenly paced than in 2005 and 2006 when Clark was pushed to the finish by Jamaica’s Kenia Sinclair.
“There is something about the energy from the Jamaican fans that makes you absolutely lose your mind,” Clark said. “I do stupid things and fall out at the end. Today was a much different feeling."
Double Wins for Barber Twins and Felix
Miki Barber’s victory in the Sprint Medley Relay was one of two for the Barber family. Her sister Me’Lisa ran the opening leg of the USA Red’s winning 4 x 100m relay with Allyson Felix, Muna Lee and Lauryn Williams that timed 42.87 to finish ahead of a Jamaican quartet of Brigitte Foster, Palmer, Peta-Gaye Dowdie and Aleen Bailey (43.55).
Felix, the reigning World 200m champion, had a hand in two victories. The 21-year-old ran a 50.2 split on the second leg of the USA Red 4 x 400m Relay with Mary Wineberg, Moushami Robinson and Debbie Dunn that timed 3:24.70. Jamaica finished second at 3:29.84 with a team of Ronetta Smith, Sherika Williams, Nadia Davy and Patrice Hall.
USA Wins 5 of 6 Relays
In all, the U.S. won five of six relays in the USA vs. The World competition as the USA Red men’s teams also won the 4x100m and 4 x 400m Relays.
In the 4 x 100m, a team of Tyson Gay, Wallace Spearmon, Darvis Patton and Shawn Crawford combined for a 38.35 to 38.89 win over Jamaica’s Michael Frater, Dwight Thomas, Ainsley Waugh and Lerone Clark.
In the 4 x 400m, the U.S. finished 1-2 with Andrew Rock, Derrick Brew, LaShawn Merritt and Darrold Williamson posting a 2:59.18 to 3:00.04 win over a USA Blue team of David Neville, Wallace Spearmon, Kerron Clement and Jackson.
The Americans' lone setback came in the Distance Medley Relay (1200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m) where Bernard Kiptum clocked a 3:53.2 anchor to give the World All-Stars team of Solomon Birir (1200m), Gary Kikaya (400m), and Courtney Jaworski (800m) to a 9:29.44 win. A USA Blue team of Nick Symmonds, Jamal Ashley, Sam Burley and Chris Lukezic was second in 3:56.3.
Season Debut for Ginnie Powell
Ginnie Powell, who ran the opening 200m leg on the USA Blue’s runner-up Sprint Medley Relay with Amanda Rhett (200m), Dominique Darden (400m) and Clement (800m), won the Olympic Development 100m Hurdles in 12.87 in her season debut over the barriers.
Powell, who set a collegiate record of 12.43 as a Southern California senior last year to win her second consecutive NCAA outdoor title, is in her first full season as a professional training under Bobby Kersee.
Historic Collegiate 4 x 800m Relays
There was plenty of history with wins by the Michigan women and Columbia men in the 4 x 800m Relays.
Michigan’s Geena Gall, Nicole Edwards, Anna Willard and Katie Erdman won in a 8:18.78 for their second meet and collegiate record in two days.
The foursome, who eclipsed Tennessee’s 1984 meet and collegiate record of 8:20.22, broke a 17-year-old collegiate record in the 4 x 1500m Relay on Friday. Willard, who ran the fastest split in the 4 x 1500m Relay of 4:13.9, was named the College Women’s Relay Athlete of the Meet.
Columbia ended a 69-year drought at Penn with Mike Mark, Jonah Rahtbun, Errison Hurtault and Liam Boylan-Pett’s upset win in 7:22.64 over Michigan (7:22.74) and Oral Roberts (7:23.73). It was also the first Ivy League win since Penn in 1974.
Other Highlights
Leonel Manzano of Texas and Kibwe Johnson of Ashland were chosen as the College Relay and Individual Events Athletes of the Meet, respectively.
Manzano anchored Texas to wins in the 4 x Mile and Distance Medley Relays. Johnson won the hammer with a toss of 71.88 for the longest throw at Penn since 1995.
Jamaican Kerron Stewart was named the College Women’s Individual Events Athlete of the Meet after her 11.15 win in the 100m for the No. 4 time in meet history.
High school highlights
In the high school competition, Tasha Stanley of Eleanor Roosevelt, who anchored the Maryland school’s 4 x 800 squad to victory in 8:51.19 for the No. 2 mark in U.S. high school history and ran the third leg of the Raiders’ winning 4 x 400m relay that posted the nation’s best time of the year at 3:39.44, was named the Girls Relays Athlete of the Meet.
Matt Centrowitz of Broadneck, New Jersey, was the selected as Boys Individual Athlete of the meet. Centrowitz won the Mile on Friday in 4:08.38 to break a meet record of 4:08.7 set in 1972. Centrowitz, who won the 3000m in 2006, is the only runner to win both the Mile and 3000m at Penn.
St. Jago of Jamaica, led by Relays Athlete of the Meet Yohan Blake, became the first school to break 40 seconds at Penn in the 4 x 100m Relay with a 39.96. Blake also anchored Jago to second in the 4 x 400m Relay in 3:10.43.
Long Beach Poly (Calif) won the 4 x 400m Relay, featuring 2006 IAAF World Junior 4 x 400m Relay Gold Medallist Bryshon Nellum and 2005 World Youth Championships 100m bronze medallist Isaiah Green, won in 3:09.89 for the No. 2 time in Penn history.
Kirby Lee for the IAAF
