Day 1 Recap: Perez Wins 3K, Breaks NJ Record At Penn

PHILADELPHIA -- Angelina Perez wasn't sure if she would make it to the starting line for Thursday's 3,000 meter race at the 126th Penn Relays.

The distance running dynamo from Lakeland Regional High School (NJ) was very congested and was debating whether or not her body was she ready to race at the level she's accustomed to.

But just minutes before the gun was scheduled to go at Franklin Field, the University of Florida-bound Perez convinced herself to give it shot and just do the best she could ... to see what happens.

What happened was the greatest 3K performance in New Jersey history and one of the best in Penn Relays history as Perez capped off an electrifying performance by stopping the clock in a US No. 1 time of 9:18.11.

That broke the New York record of 9:20.98 that was set by Charlotte Bednar of Lawrenceville, and was No. 3 in Penn Relays history. 

The only runners to go faster than Perez at the Penn Relays are Dover (NH) graduate Cathy Schiro, who went 9:15.3 in 1985, and Tatnall (DE) graduate Haley Pierce, who clocked a time of 9:16.35 in 2011.

Perez said she had some anxious moments before the race.          

 "I was just not feeling like myself before the race, and wasn't quite sure what I should do,'' Perez said. "But as I was warming up right before the race, I just told myself they trained too hard for this moment to not at least go out there and give it my all. I'm so glad it worked out the way it did. I didn't know about the state or meet records, so to find out I got the NJ record and almost got the Penn Relays record makes this mean even more to me.''      

But when the gun went off, Perez looked like her usual indefatigable self.

In typical Perez fashion, she blasted out fast and controlled the pace, daring anyone to go with her. Her relentless and aggressive front-running wore down the rest of the field by the 1,500m mark and then she began racing the clock, ripping off 74-second quarters on the way to the dominating victory.

Perez won the race by more than 20 seconds over runner-up Karrie Baloga of Cornwall (NY). 

Perez, New Jersey's first champ in the event since Katie McCafferty in 2008, came close to winning national titles in cross-country and over the indoor season, finishing third and second in two separate events.

She was second at the Eastbay National XC Championships in December and was third in a New Jersey record time of 9:56.96 in the two-mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor in March. So winning a Penn Relays title was a big relief to her.

"It's really nice to get a win at such a big meet like the Penn Relays after not winning at nationals in XC and indoors,'' said Perez. "I took some time off after the indoor season to kind of recharge, and I'm feeling like I'm ready for a big finish to my outdoor season. This was a great way to get the momentum going as I look to keep running faster and faster.''           

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Whittaker Wins Mile COA: Juliette Whittaker of Mount de Sales (MD) added a Penn Relays title to her resume with an impressive victory in the Championship of America girls mile in a U.S. No. 5 time of 4:41.18. The time is the second-fastest of the Stanford-bound senior's career, trailing the 4:38.65 she ran at Brooks PR last July. Whittaker went out in 67.68 to take a one-second lead that she never relinquished. She closed in 71.68. Junior Hannah Boyle of Cicero-North Syracuse finished second in a personal-best 4:46.50.

It's A 'Toga Party In The DMR: Heavily-favored Saratoga Springs showed up and showed out in the Championship of America distance medley relay, winning in dominant fashion in a US No. 1 effort of 11:43.26. Ella Kurto handed off after trailing Metuchen (NJ) by three seconds on the opening leg, but Alycia Hart regained the lead for good with a 57.75 second 400m split on the second leg. Mackenzie Hart held strong with 2:15.31 800m split as West Springfield (VA) momentarily moved into second behind a strong 2:13.45 split from Kenza Elakari. Sophomore Emily Bush anchored in a race-best 4:52.77 for 1,600m for Saratoga. Read more about Saratoga's win and watch their race here.

Bullis Set To Challenge For 4x400m COA: The girls from Bullis recovered from a disastrous turn in the 4x100m heats, where they dropped the baton, to log the fastest time by an American team and the third-fastest overall in the 4x400 qualifying heats. The all-junior quartet of Mirai Bernard, Myla Greene, Lauren Leath and Sage Hinton won its heat in a US No. 2 time of 3:43.59, stacking up behind Jamaican squads Hydel, which ran 3:39.34, and Holmwood Technical, which ran 3:41.95.

Paul Robeson (3:44.36), Clayton (3:47.39), and Scotch Plains (3:50.69) round out the U.S. qualifiers for the race, which will also include Edwin Allen (3:45.29), St. Jago (3:49.50) and Excelsior (3:51.15). Hydel, which received a smoking 52.89 second anchor leg from Orrica McAnnoff, won its two Championship of America title in 2017 when it clocked a meet-record 3:33.99, and 2018.

Florida Girls To Chasing Jamaicans In 4x100m COA: While the cold and wind were less than inviting, the IMG Academy quartet of Sanaa Morris, Anika Thomas, Amani Kirnon and Columba Effiong seemed quite at home -- 1,082 miles from Florida -- and among the top sprint squads, qualifying for the Championship of America 4x100 as the fastest American squad. IMG's girls, which clocked the third-fastest time in the heats at 47.03, will join Paul Robeson (47.83) and Union Catholic (47.96) as U.S. squads taking on six of the best teams from Jamaica tomorrow afternoon. Edwin Allen ran a blistering 44.64 to lead all qualifiers. 

Making The Last One Count: After struggling to get on the board in her first two attempts, sophomore Avery Lewis of Friends Central (PA) caught fire late, eventually winning the long jump on her final attempt. Lewis' wind-aided (+2.8) mark of 19-10.25 (6.05m) enabled her to leapfrog Serena Cole of Edwin Allen (JAM), who opened the competition with a jump of 19-7.5 (5.98m). Read more about the competition. 

Woods Conquers Wind To Win Jav: Facing wind she called, "the worst I've ever seen,'' Nicole Woods of Demarest easily outclassed the field to become just the second New Jersey athlete to win a Penn Relays title in the girls javelin after Amy Krilla of Red Bank Catholic in 2001. The Princeton-bound senior line-drived a final throw of 141-3 (43.05m) to win by almost two meters. Get all of the details on the competition and hear from Woods here. 

Mokonchu Soars To HJ Title: Nene Mokonchu cleared 5-7.75 (1.72m) on her second try to outlast Audrey Kirkutis of Conard (CT) and Annishka McDonald of St. Jago (JAM) to win the girls high jump. The senior from Spring-Ford (PA) fell just short of her state indoor winning mark and her outdoor personal-best of 5-9. Read more about Mokonchu's victory and watch her post-victory interview here.

First Time A Charm For Vacca In PV: Mount Saint Joseph freshman Veronica Vacca overcame the difficult and windy conditions to win the pole vault title in her maiden trip to Penn, clearing 12-7.5 (3.85m) on her second attempt at the height. She owns a season-best of 13-5, indicative of just how tricky the winds swirling inside Franklin Field were. Only five athletes cleared a bar after the opening height of 11-3.75 (3.45m). Read more about the competition and hear Vacca's account of how things played out here.

Bethea Wins TJ In Memory Of Coach: Faith Bethea competed with a heavy heart. The senior at Snyder (NJ) was thinking all day about Robert Arena, who was the girls coach when he passed away at the age of 36 on Oct. 18, 2021. Motivated and inspired by Arena's memory, the Rutgers-bound Bethea soared to a personal-best mark of 40-5.50 (12.33m) on her second attempt to win the girls triple jump. Bethea is the first girl ever from Hudson County to win an individual title at the Penn Relays. Read more about Bethea's victory and watch her interview here.

-- Dan Beck and Joe Battaglia contributed to this report