Long Beach Poly's boys match girls at Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA – The wait is over for the Long Beach Poly (Calif.) boys 3,200 relay team.

The Jackrabbits assembled their top team for the first time this season to win the Championship of America race in a California State record 7 minutes, 31.69 seconds at the 117th Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field on Saturday.

Poly's time by seniors Chris Hall, Aaron Harris, Christian Penn and Myles Andrews ranks third on the all-time high school list behind the marks of 7:30.67 set by Albemarle (Charlottesville, Va.) and 7:31.69 run in the 2009 Penn Relays.

With the support of the crowd of 48,536, Andrews finished with a 1:49.54 anchor as the USC-bound runner chased the national record down the homestretch. Poly missed the national record but shattered the California record of 7:38.31 set by Don Lugo in 2000.

Poly won by more than six seconds over Pennyslvania's Abington (7:37.79) and Central Bucks West (7:38.97). No other team ran faster than 7:45.

Andrews' performance earned his selection as the High School Boys Athletes of the Meet for Relay Events. Andrews also ran the opening leg on Poly's 1,600 relay with seniors Richard Smith, Shaquille Howard and Kameron White that placed fourth in 3:15.18.

All four runners on Saturday's team were members of the team that finished fourth in the 2010 Penn Relays after running 7:43 .00 in the prelims. Hall, Harris, Penn and Andrews began planning for an assault on the national record after that race a year ago.

"Once we finished the race. We looked at the national record and we said ‘Next year, we're going to get this,' "  Andrews said.

Poly's victory in the 3,200 relay was the second Championship of America race title in the three-day meet. On Friday, the Jackrabbits' girls 1,600 relay of seniors Carisma Lyday, Melia Cox and Akawkaw Ndipagbor and junior Traci Hicks ran a nation-leading 45.23.

Saturday's race was the first that the Poly boys had run Hall, Harris, Andrews and Penn on the same 3,200 relay this season.

"We had the memorized the time of the record," Penn said. "We said ‘Ok, if we run this and he runs this, then you know we'll get it.' We were that close."

Saturday's record attempt was a calculated move by middle distance coach Clarence Rhone, who chose Penn in the 3,200 relay over the Arcadia Invitational and the Mt. San Antonio College Relays where Poly focused on other events.

Andrews won the invitational 800 in the Arcadia Invitational on April 9. Andrews, Hall and Penn set a record in the 4-mile relay at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on April 16.

"In the big of scheme of things, we had certain target races and what we wanted them to do," Rhone said. "We were going after the 4 x 800 national record all year long and believed that we could get it. I told them to run smart and run aggressive and let the training kickoff."

The strategy worked for the Poly girls team of seniors Arielle Stevenson, Rebekah Oragwu and Dynasty Gammage and freshman Jhanice Lane who ran the top U.S. time of the year of 8:59.72 to place second as the top American team in the 3,200 relay on Friday.

On Saturday, the Poly boys were in the lead from the start after a 1:53.98 opening leg by Hall. That was followed by legs of 1:53.99 by Harris and 1:54.18 by Penn on the third carry to give Andrews the lead with an insurmountable lead.

"Today means a lot. No one has come close to the record in a long time," Andrews said. "We're pleased but another chance would be great."

More highlights:

* Ristananna Tracey (Edwin Allen, Jamaica), was named the female high school athlete of the meet for relay events. Tracey anchored the winning 3,200 relay with a 2:03.17 split to equal the fastest ever at Penn. Allen's quartet ran 8:39.22, the second fastest ever at the Carnival. Tracey also anchored Allen's 1,600 team to third place with a 52.5 leg, the fastest split of this year's meet.

* Haley Pierce Tatnall (Wilmington, Del.), who won the high school girls 3000-meter run in 9:16.35 for second fastest ever at Penn, was named the high school femalte athlete of the meet for individual events. Travis Smikle (Calabar, Jamaica), winner of the discus in a meet record 228-2 was the boys athlete of the meet for individual events.

* In other competiton on Saturday, Jamaica dominated the 400 and 1,600 relays. Jamaica took the top six spots in the 400 relays paced by Wolmer's Boys (40.42). In the 1,600 relay, Munro College won in 3:11.32 with Serra (Gardena, Calif.) in second as the top U.S. team in 3:14.39.

* A pair of U.S. stars repeated as individual champions. Jordan Yamoah (Arlington-LaGrangeville, N.Y.) won the pole vault at 16-6 1/2, bettering Curtis (River Ridge, La.) star Dalton Duvio (16-0 3/4).

* In the triple jump, Middletown (Del.) star Marquise Dendy won his second straight title with a windy mark of 50-8 1/4. Athens (The Plains, Ohio) standout Jarred Gambrell took second at 50-0 3/4, but took over the national lead.