PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Paige Sheppard, Union Catholic's dynamic freshman star, was named the Most Outstanding High School Girls Athlete of the Meet for relay races at the 128th Penn Relays on Saturday at Franklin Field.
Sheppard earned the award by putting the finishing touches on Union Catholic's national record 4x800-meter relay masterpiece when she burned a PR 2:07.86 anchor leg to stop the clock at 8:41.20!!! That smashed the national record of 8:43.12 that was set at the 2008 Penn Relays by Eleanor Roosevelt of Maryland. It was the second straight Championship of America 4x800 title for UC.
This is the second year in a row and third time overall that a UC runner earned the Most Outstanding High School Girls Athlete of the Meet for relay races. Last year, Peyton Hollis was the award winner after anchoring UC to the C of A 4x800 title last year. Hollis ran the second leg on Friday for the Vikings. In 2017, the legendary Sydney McLaughlin, the 400 hurdle World Record holder and 2-time Olympic gold medalist, received the award.
New Jersey has now had five winners of the Most Outstanding High School Girls Athlete of the Meet for relay races since 2013. In addition to Sheppard, Hollis, and McLaughlin, Olivia Baker earned the honor in both 2013 and 2014 when she anchored Columbia to back-to-back Championship of America 4x800 titles.
