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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Union Catholic raced into its second Championship of America final of the day when the Vikings ran 47.07 in the qualifying heats of 4x100-meter relay at the 128th Penn Relays on Thursday at Franklin Field.
Union Catholic, with a lineup consisting of junior Taylor Aska, junior Taylor Cox, senior Leah Gould, and sophomore Natalia Thompson, was the final qualifier to earn a berth in the C of A race and its time of 47.07 was the 9th fastest of the 595 teams that finished. Defending champion Hydel of Jamaica ran the top time in the qualifying heats with a 45.99. The 9-team C of A race is is scheduled for Friday 2:15 p.m.
Three other NJ girls teams qualified for 4x100 finals as Timber Creek (47.15), Westfield (48.68) and Winslow (48.97) all earn a spot in the Northeast final, slated for Friday at 2:00 p.m.
It's been quite a day for UC so far as the Vikings made two Championship of America finals. In the first event of the meet on Thursday, UC ran 9:02.27 in its 4x800 qualifying heat, the fastest time of the day. UC will defend its 4x800 C of A title on Friday at 6:15 p.m.
As for the 4x100, UC is capable of running faster in the final.
Last week, the Vikings ran a NJ No. 3 all-time 46.06 at the Blue Devil Classic in Westfield, so the firepower to contend for the win on Friday is there, and the state record of 45.50, set by Montclair at the 1998 Penn Relays, is in jeopardy.