The Penn Relays bring top athletes from around the world to Philly. Here are some Big 5 names to know.
Penn, Villanova, St. Joe's, La Salle, and Temple will be in action this weekend.
It’s the last weekend of April in Philadelphia, which means one thing: It’s time for the Penn Relays.
Originating in 1895, it is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, and one deeply connected to the city.
That’s why the meet tends to mean a little more for the Big 5 schools that are competing in their own backyard. Here are some of the athletes from each competing Big 5 school to keep an eye on:
The women’s team has had a record year, with the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay squads breaking the Ivy League records. Director of track and field Steve Dolan has referred to the 4x400 as the Quakers’ “showcase” event, saying it is the fastest team they’ve ever had. Dolan called senior Isabella Whittaker a “key runner” in the sprint medley relay and the 4x400, with action beginning Friday. Bronwyn Patterson will anchor Friday’s sprint medley.
As for the men’s team, Shane Gardner is the school record-holder in the 110-meter hurdles and will compete in the event starting Friday. Freshman Ryan Matulonis is another hurdler Dolan says to watch out for. He’ll compete Thursday in the 400-meter hurdles. He won the 500-meter dash at the indoor Ivy League championships earlier this season and already ran an NCAA Championships-qualifying time in the 400 hurdles.
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With just a week before the Atlantic 10 championships, St. Joe’s will not have any individual entries. Instead, the Hawks are focusing on their relays. On the men’s side, the 4x800 relay of Owen Moelter, Graham Phillips, Gavin Campbell, and Josh Thaler broke the school record for this relay at the IC4A indoor championships in March. They’ll compete Saturday.
On the women’s side, coach Mike Glavin called senior Sydney Rose the “diamond” of the 4x100 and 4x200 relay. Rose holds the record for the school’s 60-meter dash and has the second-fastest 100 time in program history. Rose and the Hawks begin action on Friday.
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Both Villanova men’s track coach Marcus O’Sullivan and women’s coach Gina Procaccio emphasized how important the Penn Relays are to their programs. O’Sullivan went as far as to claim it is “twice as important as the national championships” for them.
O’Sullivan recommended keeping an eye on a trio of New Jersey natives. One of them, Sean Dolan, is the son of Steve Dolan, the director of track and field at Penn. Marco Langon and Liam Murphy are also Jersey natives. Murphy has already qualified for the Olympic trials in the 1,500-meter run, and O’Sullivan believes that Dolan and Langon have a chance to do the same this weekend. Murphy and Dolan are on the distance medley relay set for Friday, and on Saturday, Langon is in the mile relay, while Dolan is part of the Wildcats’ 4x800 squad.
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Procaccio also recommended watching local athletes from the women’s team. Friday’s distance medley relay anchor, Emma McGill, also will be running the open 1,500 on Thursday. The Penn Relays are something of a family tradition for McGill, whose mother also anchored the DMR in the Penn Relays when she was at Villanova. Micah Trusty also has familiarity with the Penn Relays, having competed at the carnival as a high schooler at Friends Central. She’s now competing in the 800 leg of the DMR and in the 4x800 relay on Saturday.
La Salle will be starting the Penn Relays strong with emphasis on the distance events on Thursday. While director of track and field Tom Peterson said the entries for the meet usually are a game-time decision for the Explorers, there are two graduate students who are must-follows. New Zealand native Taonga Mbambo will be competing in the 5,000-meter run. Peterson said there also is a chance that Christine Mancini will compete in the 1,500.
Both athletes have had NCAA qualifying times with Mbambo qualifying in cross country and Mancini qualifying in the 800 and 1,500 in recent years. Mancini, a Cardinal O’Hara graduate, is one of four daughters to have run track at Cardinal O’Hara and La Salle. Peterson said that this and the local element make the meet mean “a little bit more” to her.
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Temple will be competing in just one men’s event, the 500. Université Paris Cité transfer Octave Frenoy signed with the Owls in early 2024. He competed in three meets this year and placed seventh in the 3,000-meter run at the Penn Challenge on March 23.
For the women, Cierra Crane will compete in the pole vault on Friday. Crane recently placed third at the Larry Ellis Invitational. She set a personal record with a height of 3.95 meters that ranks second in program history. Inara Shell will be competing in the triple jump and long jump on Friday and Saturday. Shell finished second in the long jump at the Penn Invitational with a jump of 5.88 meters. She also finished third in the triple jump at the Larry Ellis Invitational with a jump of 12.29 meters.