PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - New Jersey made its presence felt in a big way in the 4x800-meter relay heats when three teams charged into the Championship of America race to kick off action on Friday at the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field.
Cherokee, Toms River North and West Orange grabbed three of the 12 spots in Saturday's Championship of America final, which is scheduled for 4:10pm.
All three teams ran in the same qualifying heat with Cherokee running 7:51.14, the fourth fastest time of the day, Toms River North went 7:52.51, the sixth fastest time, and West Orange clocked a 7:54.27, the ninth fastest time. Jamaica College ran the top qualifying time with a 7:45.38.
This is the first time since 2012 that Cherokee has advanced to the 4x800 C of A and Cherokee was third in the the DMR C of A in 2001. Toms River North qualified for the second straight year and West Orange, who just missed its school record of 7:54.12, will be making its first appearance ever in a C of A race.
Cherokee's lineup consisted of Nick Kuenkel (1:56.93), Benjamin Realley (1:58.83), Logan Bromley (1:58.83), and Bobby Poplau (1:56.55)
Toms River North used Camryn Thomas (1:57.85), Mordecai Ford (1:58.54), Tahj Wilson (1:59.96), and Taysaun Wilson (1:56.17). Thomas and Taysaun Wilson ran on the TRN squad here last year, while Ford and Tahj Wilson, who broke 2L00 for the first time today, are new to the lineup this season.
West Orange featured Andres Acosta (1:56.82), Lyfe Smith (1:58.23), Ciaran Brosnan (1:59.99), and Cooper Harwood (1:59.25). Brosnan's brother, Shane, anchored the winning DMR for Union Catholic here in 2022.
Combined Heats Ranked List
Top 12 advance to the Championship of America race.
There were 15 teams from New Jersey among the 71 squads who competed.
| PL | School | Time | ID | Heat |
|---|
| 1 | Jamaica College (Kingston, JAM) | 7:45.38 | CA | 303-1 |
| 2 | Newburgh Free (Newburgh, NY) | 7:45.54 | CM | 303-1 |
| 3 | Christian Brothers (Memphis, TN) | 7:47.72 | CD | 303-1 |
| 4 | Cherokee (Marlton, NJ) | 7:51.14 | CE | 303-1 |
| 5 | Central Bucks West (Doylestown, PA) | 7:52.05 | DA | 304-1 |
| 6 | Toms River North (Toms River, NJ) | 7:52.51 | CJ | 303-1 |
| 7 | Council Rock North (Newtown, PA) | 7:53.76 | CH | 303-1 |
| 8 | Kingston College (East Kingston, JAM) | 7:53.86 | DD | 304-1 |
| 9 | West Orange (West Orange, NJ) | 7:54.27 | CO | 303-1 |
| 10 | Woodbridge (Woodbridge, VA) | 7:54.32 | CC | 303-1 |
| 11 | St. John's College (Washington, DC) | 7:55.63 | AA | 301-1 |
| 12 | Lake Braddock (Burke, VA) | 7:57.10 | DC | 304-1 |
| 13 | Bishop McNamara (Forestville, MD) | 7:57.30 | BB | 302-1 |
| 14 | Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, NJ) | 7:58.13 | AC | 301-1 |
| 15 | DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) | 7:59.35 | DB | 304-1 |
| 16 | La Salle College (Wyndmoor, PA) | 8:00.04 | CN | 303-1 |
| 17 | Abington (Abington, PA) | 8:00.11 | DG | 304-1 |
| 18 | William H. Hall (West Hartford, CT) | 8:00.71 | DE | 304-1 |
| 19 | WWP North (Plainsboro, NJ) | 8:01.12 | CL | 303-1 |
| 20 | North Penn (Lansdale, PA) | 8:01.55 | DJ | 304-1 |
| 21 | Christian Brothers (Albany, NY) | 8:02.31 | AK | 301-1 |
| 22 | Marvin Ridge (Waxhaw, NC) | 8:02.46 | DH | 304-1 |
| 23 | Manhasset (Manhasset, NY) | 8:02.82 | BC | 302-1 |
| 24 | St. Mark's (Wilmington, DE) | 8:02.93 | BF | 302-1 |
| 25 | Spring-Ford (Royersford, PA) | 8:02.97 | CI | 303-1 |
| 26 | Colts Neck (Colts Neck, NJ) | 8:03.29 | BD | 302-1 |
| 27 | Metuchen (Metuchen, NJ) | 8:03.61 | BG | 302-1 |
| 28 | Clover Hill (Midlothian, VA) | 8:03.66 | DI | 304-1 |
| 29 | Episcopal Academy (Newtown Square, PA) | 8:04.03 | BA | 302-1 |
| 30 | Summit (Summit, NJ) | 8:04.05 | BH | 302-1 |
| 31 | Olmsted Falls (Olmsted Falls, OH) | 8:04.14 | AI | 301-1 |
| 32 | Northern Valley Regional (Demarest, NJ) | 8:04.60 | AF | 301-1 |
| 33 | Caesar Rodney (Camden, DE) | 8:05.32 | DR | 304-1 |
| 34 | St. Joseph by the Sea (Staten Island, NY) | 8:05.91 | BL | 302-1 |
| 35 | Fordham Prep (Bronx, NY) | 8:06.51 | DS | 304-1 |
| 36 | Baldwinsville (Baldwinsville, NY) | 8:06.82 | DP | 304-1 |
| 37 | Upper Dublin (Fort Washington, PA) | 8:07.39 | BE | 302-1 |
| 38 | River Dell Regional (Oradell, NJ) | 8:08.19 | BS | 302-1 |
| 39 | Strath Haven (Wallingford, PA) | 8:08.30 | AO | 301-1 |
| 40 | Bernards (Bernardsville, NJ) | 8:08.38 | AD | 301-1 |
| 41 | St. Anthony's (South Huntington, NY) | 8:08.52 | CB | 303-1 |
| 42 | Sandford (Hockessin, DE) | 8:08.76 | BI | 302-1 |
| 43 | Centreville (Clifton, VA) | 8:09.37 | CK | 303-1 |
| 44 | Colonie Central (Albany, NY) | 8:09.94 | CG | 303-1 |
| 45 | Manheim Township (Lancaster, PA) | 8:10.15 | CR | 303-1 |
| 46 | Loudoun Valley (Purcellville, VA) | 8:10.19 | AE | 301-1 |
| 47 | Gilman School (Baltimore, MD) | 8:10.57 | AM | 301-1 |
| 48 | Xavier (New York, NY) | 8:10.66 | DF | 304-1 |
| 49 | Luis Munoz Marin (Barranquitas, PR) | 8:11.71 | DK | 304-1 |
| 50 | Blacksburg (Blacksburg, VA) | 8:12.82 | DL | 304-1 |
| 51 | William Penn Charter (Philadelphia, PA) | 8:12.85 | AS | 301-1 |
| 52 | South Lakes (Reston, VA) | 8:14.56 | CF | 303-1 |
| 53 | Urbana (Ijamsville, MD) | 8:15.01 | AL | 301-1 |
| 54 | McLean (McLean, VA) | 8:15.54 | CS | 303-1 |
| 55 | Saint John Paul (Potomac Shores , VA) | 8:16.38 | BJ | 302-1 |
| 56 | Sherando (Stephens City, VA) | 8:16.39 | CP | 303-1 |
| 57 | Centennial (Ellicott City, MD) | 8:16.88 | BR | 302-1 |
| 58 | Nanuet (Nanuet, NY) | 8:17.18 | AP | 301-1 |
| 59 | Chaminade (Mineola, NY) | 8:17.92 | DN | 304-1 |
| 60 | Pearl River (Pearl River, NY) | 8:18.15 | BP | 302-1 |
| 61 | Poly Prep (Brooklyn, NY) | 8:19.24 | BO | 302-1 |
| 62 | North Hunterdon (Annandale, NJ) | 8:22.00 | DM | 304-1 |
| 63 | Elizabeth (Elizabeth, NJ) | 8:22.36 | DO | 304-1 |
| 64 | Deptford (Deptford, NJ) | 8:22.79 | AR | 301-1 |
| 65 | Oratory (Summit, NJ) | 8:29.23 | AG | 301-1 |
| 66 | Notre Dame Cathedral (Chardon, OH) | 8:33.11 | AN | 301-1 |
| 67 | Port Antonio (Port Antonio, JAM) | 8:33.90 | BM | 302-1 |
| 68 | Amherst (Amherst, MA) | 8:35.65 | BK | 302-1 |
| 69 | St. Elizabeth Tech (Santa Cruz, JAM) | 8:46.66 | AH | 301-1 |
| 70 | Bullis School (Potomac, MD) | DNS | AB | 301-1 |
| 71 | Calabar (Kingston, JAM) | DNS | AJ | 301-1 |
