National High 5: Penn Relays and National No. 1s

By Mitch Stephens

MaxPreps.com

1. Preps and the Penn Relays: As high school spectacles go, few beat the Penn Relays. Yes, the prepsters have piggy-backed on to the oldest (113 years) and largest (15,000 participants annually) track and field carnival, which regularly draws 100,000 fans over the final three days at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md.) stole the show for the United States, recording not only the greatest 4x800 relay time in U.S. history (8:43.12) – it was second to Jamaica’s Holmwood Tech - but the squad of Elan Hilare (55.9), Doris Anyanwo (53.6), Afia Charles (53.5) and Tasha Stanley (54.2) also won the 4x400 relay in 3:37.16. Holmwood’s time of 8:41.92 in the 4x800 was the second fastest in meet history. The Roosevelt team included Dominique Lockhart (2:13), Amirah Johnson (2:08.6), Brittany Ogunomokun (2:11.9) and Stanley (2:09.6). The Jamaican girls 4x100 relay team of Edwin Allen won in 44.79, the sixth fastest in meet history. Other U.S. highlights included the Roxbury (N.J.) distance medley team that set a national season best (11th all-time) by going 11:42.16, the New Jersey duo of Mike Vena (63-6) and Mile Alleman (62-1) who went 1-2 in the shot put, Stephanie Morgan (Barnesville, Ohio) won the mile in national-leading mark of 4:41.22 and Corning Area, N.Y. senior Albert Johnson, who won the triple jump at 49-0¼. See wall-to-wall coverage at www.dyestat.com.  

2. Friendship Smenship: Gilman (Baltimore, Md.), the No. 1 boys lacrosse team in the land according to MaxPreps.com, overcame Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference rival and No. 2 ranked Calvert Hall (Baltimore), and a long-standing friendship to improve to 14-0 on Friday with a 10-7 victory. Midfielder Jack Boyle had four goals for Gilman, whose coach Brooks Matthews was teammates with Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly on North Carolina’s 1991 national championship team. Despite the friendship the game was particularly physical and foul-filled in this account by Baltimore Sun reporter Stefen Lovelace. Four teams from the MIAAA are among MaxPreps’ top 10 nationally.

3. Gorman Rebounds: A day after having its 12-game win streak snapped, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), MaxPreps’ top-ranked baseball team nationally, got a three-run double from winning pitcher Paul Sewald who gave up just one hit in five innings during a 9-1 win over host Rancho on Friday. Gorman, the defending state champions, has outscored foes 395-97 and scored in double-digits 21 times, four times topping the 20-run barrier. Leading hitter Jeff Malm, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound junior, leads the squad with a .573 average with 59 hits, 24 doubles, six homers and 57 RBIs. Joey and John Rickard share team-high honors with nine homers apiece as the Gaels have 45 round-trippers overall.

4. Utah’s Ultimate Hit and Run Player: Timpanogos (Orem, Utah) senior Taylor Lyons is not only the state’s top returner sprinter, but he’s one of the region’s top baseball players. On top of that, he’s verbally committed to Utah’s football team after scoring 21 touchdowns – 12 rushing, nine receiver – for Timpangos in the fall. Read all of Lyons’ exploits in this fine story by Desert News staffer Jason Adkins.

5. Californian Named Nation’s Top Wrestler: Another remarkable all-around athlete, Las Lomas (Walnut Creek, Calif.) senior Jason Welch was named last week the winner of the Junior Dan Hodge Trophy, an award presented to the nation’s top high school wrestler. The Northwestern-bound standout was 194-7 in high school career and finished his career on a 142-match win streak with three straight state crowns. As chronicled in this superb story by our own Hall-of-Fame scribe Dave Krider, Welch played soccer the same season he wrestled and was also an all-league football player.