The 129th Penn Relays presented by Toyota will kick off on Thursday, and as usual New Jersey will once again be loaded with superior firepower and should leave lots of smoke on the track at legendary Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
Wheels and watches will be up for grabs at the prestigious three day meet, the largest and greatest baton-passing extravaganza in the world!!!
We did some digging to come up with some of the top New Jersey high school storylines to keep an eye on as the Garden State looks to make its presence felt on one of the biggest track and field stages in the world. See down below.
And in case you missed it, here's a deep dive into many of the greatest performances by a NJ high school athletes and relay teams in Penn Relays history!!!
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HISTORIC DMR'S
Christian Brothers Academy and the Union Catholic girls and could both make history in the distance medley relays!!!
CBA, the defending champs, are bidding to become the first NJ team to ever win back-to-back titles and the first U.S. team in 73 years to capture two titles in a row!!! The last U.S. team to accomplish the back-to-back feat was Bishop Loughlin of New York, who won its fourth title in a row in 1952. Overall, only 7 boys teams have ever won 2 straight DMR, and no team has done it since St. Malacy's of Belfast, Ireland won its fourth straight Championship of America race in 2000. Additionally, a victory by CBA would be its fifth DMR COA title, which would be the second most in meet history! Bishop Loughlin has the most with 8!! CBA's four titles came in 1985, 1988, 2011 and 2024).
CBA's lineup will consist of senior Ryan Schmitt, senior Ethan Fianko, junior Wyatt Falkowski and senior Joe Barrett. Fianko and Barrett ran on the winning team last year. CBA, who ran 10:05.21 indoors, will be joined by several NJ squads who broke 10:15 indoors - Colts Neck (10:07.66), 2024 Penn Relays runner-up Westfield (10:07.80), Bernards (10:08.72), Haddonfield (10:11.61) and Ridge (10:13.48).
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GIRLS DMR
As for the UC girls, they are favored to become the first U.S. girls team to ever win the DMR COA the year after winning the 4x800!!! After capturing the 4x800 the last 2 years, including a then national record 8:41.20, which they reset at the New Balance Nationals two months later 8:34.20. UC, who will go with a lineup of sophomore Sophia Thompson, senior Taylor Aska, junior Jimmiea King, and sophomore Paige Sheppard, should also crush the state record of 11:32.29 set by Red Bank Catholic in 2011, and should take down the meet record (11:28.86 by Tatnall in 2012). The national record of 11:20.44 set by Cuthbertson of N.C. at the New Balance National Championships last June could also be challenged by this loaded squad.
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CIRCLE SUPREMACY
As usual, there will be plenty of New Jersey firepower in the circle!!!
Livingston senior Jessica Oji is back to defending her girls shot put title, and Bergen Catholic senior stud Benjamin Shue, who finished second in the boys discus last year and has been the top American two straight years, is again one of the favorites in the discus
Oji, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania next year, is aiming to become just the fifth girl to repeat as shot put champ. Two NJ girls have won multiple titles in the shot, Alyssa Wilson of Donovan Catholic won in 2016 and 2017 and Nicole Sims of Plainfield went 4-for-4 from 1990-93.
The meet record of 53-7 and state record of 58-1, both set by Wilson in 2017, are in Oji's crosshairs!. Oji opened her season this past Saturday with a 53-11, No. 2 in state outdoor history. Oji owns a PR of 57-4.50 from the indoor season, so Wilson's state record is within her reach!!!
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Meanwhile, the University of Texas-bound Shue, who is No. 4 in NJ history in the discus with the 205-4 he threw to finish first at the Meet of Champions last June, is attempting to become the first NJ boy to win the discus since Olympian Sam Mattis of East Brunswick in 2012. Mattis went on to set the still standing state discus record of 218-5 in 2012.
LOTS OF FLAIR IN THE AIR
POLE VAULT
There is a great chance of seeing some of NJ's best jumpers/vaulters enter rarified air!!
In the pole vault, Owen Keating of Pompton Lakes and Hannah Byrd-Leitner of Moorestown will look to soar to new heights.
Keating, who made 16-6 indoors, which is tied for No. 5 in state history indoors/outdoor/combined, is seeking to become the first NJ boys champ since Andy Brethorst of Morris Knolls in 1990.
Byrd-Leitner, who has a PR of 13-2 that she cleared to win the Meet of Champions last spring, has the potential to break the state record of 13-5..25 set at the 2018 Meet of Champions by Hayley Horvath of Notre Dame. Julianne Toto of Middletown South is the only NJ girls to ever win the pole vault at the Penn Relays. She made 12-4 in 2005 to finish first.
HIGH JUMP
There hasn't been a NJ champ in the boys high jump since Devin Bond of Trenton in 2006 and NJ hasn't had a 7-footer since current Dallas Cowboys safety Markquese Bell of Bridgeton cleared 7-0 in 2016. But both of those droughts could end.
There are 3 NJ jumpers who made 6-10 or better indoors, sophomore Malik Mohammed of West Side (6-10.75), and seniors Jayden DeLeon of Highland Regional (6-10.25), and David Brown of Edison (6-10).
LONG JUMP
Liam Paneque of Demarest has the potential to win the long jump and become the fourth to ever go beyond 25 feet in meet history. The Virginia-bound star, who was 5th last year, soared a PR of 25-2 to finish first at the Meet of Champions last June, which is No. 4 in NJ history!
BACK-TO-BACK TRIFECTA'S
Earning a spot in one Championship of America race is tough enough, but qualifying for three is truly epic!!! And doing it two years in a row is legendary!!!
That's what the Toms River North boys and Union Catholic girls will attempt to do.
Last year in the 3 C of A races, TRN was 11th in the 4x800, eighth in the 4x400 and ran 41.79 in the 4x100 before getting DQ'd. The UC girls won the 4x800 for the second straight year last year, placed ninth in the 4x100 and third in the 4x400.
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SPRINT RELAYS
NJ's best hopes to earn a spot in the 4x100/4x400 Championship of America races are as follows:
For the girls, the Union Catholic girls have the firepower to make both finals, as they did a year ago, and Winslow . The own the state's best times in both races, 45.71 in the 4x100 and in the 4x400. The state record of 45.48 that UC ran at the New Balance National Championships is on thin ice. Also look out for Pennsauken (47.26) Winslow (47.40) and West Orange (47.81) in the 4x100.
In the girls 4x400, the big three to keep an eye on are Union Catholic (3:41.19 indoors), Winslow (3:44.74 indoors) and Rumson (3:49.18 indoors), the only three NJ teams under 3:50.
On the boys side, the fastest NJ 4x100 teams so far this season are Winslow (42.00), St. Peter's Prep (42.19), Rancocas Valley (42.62), and Camden and Mount Olive (42.68). But Toms River North and Bergen Catholic both have the legs to go under 42.00.
In the 4x400, TRN, who ran a NJ indoor record 3:14.35 when they finished second at the New Balance Nationals last month, and Winslow, who ran 3:15.81 indoors, both have a great shot at making the C of A race.
FYI-The last NJ team boys team won the 4x400 COA was Winslow, who ran 3:13.71)in 2004 with the great Reuben McCoy, who split 45.0 on the anchor! The state outdoor record of 3:09.91 was set by Camden in 2001. As for the boys 4x100, Montclair is the last NJ boys team to win at Penn when the Mounties went 41.31 in 1984. On the girls side, Willingboro, with legendary Carol Lewis on the anchor, is the only NJ team to win the 4x100, running 47.63 in 1981, and Willingboro is also the last NJ squad to win the 4x400 at Penn, running 3:45.74 to finish first in 1999.
4X800's
The Rumson girls will have three of the four members from their 4x800 crew that finished eighth last year in the Championship of America race in 9:04.48 in their lineup.
Senior Izzy Rodriguez, junior Reese Reynolds Malone and senior Clemmie Lilley, who all ran at Penn last year, will be joined by senior Cassedy Stypul. With all that firewpower, Rumson should run well under 9 minutes and mix it up with the Jamaican powerhouses and challenge for a top spot and perhaps finish as the top American squad!
There are several other NJ teams with a strong chance of making the 12-team final, including Cherokee (9:21.64), Winslow (9:25.67), Moorestown (9:27.12), and Red Bank Catholic (9:29.65).
In the boys 4x800, the NJ teams with the best chances of advancing to the 12-team COA race are Union Catholic (7:46.29),Toms River North (7:55.82), Oratory (7:58.98), North Hunterdon (7:59.39), Demarest (7:59.71), and Morris Hills (7:59.84).
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GOING THE DISTANCE
Look out for Luke Pash of Ridgewood and Liliah Gordon of Northern Burlington in the 3K races!
They both won the 3,200 at the Indoor Meet of Champions last month, and both are major contenders at Penn.
The University of North Carolina-bound Pash will also be chasing Devin Hart's winning time of 8:22.24 in 2018, which is the fastest ever by a NJ runner at the Penn Relays. Pash owns a 3,200 PR of 8:54.81 and has a 1,600 PR of 4:04.49. The Penn State-bound Gordon was 8th in the 3K at Penn last year, and has PR's of 10:13.41 for 3,200 and 4:52.13 for the mile.
MVP 4-PEAT??
For the last 3 years an athlete from NJ has been awarded either the Most Outstanding Girls' Athlete of the Meet on relays or in an individual event. Can the Garden State make it 4 in a row!! Yes, there is a strong possibility that it could happen!!
In 2022, Angelina Perez of Lakeland was named the Most Outstanding Girls' Performer of the Meet for Individual Events after she won the 3,000. In 2023, Peyton Hollis of Union Catholic earned the Most Outstanding Girls' Performer of the Meet for Relays by anchoring her team to victory in the 4x800 Championship of America race. Then last year, Union Catholic's Paige Sheppard was named the Most Outstanding Girls' Performer of the Meet for Relays when she anchored her team to a national record time when the Vikings won the 4x800 Championship of America race for the second straight year.
Sheppard will be anchoring UC's DMR this year, which is favored to win, and Oji is favored to win her second straight championship in the girls shot put, so those two have chance to earn the Most Outstanding Girls' Performer of the Meet honors! Stay tuned!