* Samantha McDonnell anchored Newbury Park's national record 4x1600 on Friday
Photo Credit: Daniel Hernandez/MileSplit
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Friday night presented another big breakthrough for Newbury Park.
Only, it was the girls team that showcased its superiority this time.
Running under the lights with just a few events remaining at the Mt. SAC Invitational, the Panthers clocked a new national record in the 4x1600 relay, finishing in a time of 19:48.81.
The record came just a month following the accolades of the boys team, which set a new national record of 16:29.31 in the 4xmile at New Balance Nationals Indoor in March.
The girls' performance, meanwhile, surpassed Great Oak's former 6,400m relay national record of 19:52.88, which was last set in 2016 at this same meet.
Top 10 Girls 4x1,600m Performances All-Time
| rank | time | school | event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19:48.81 | CA Newbury Park | Mt. SAC Relays 1stApr 15, 2022 - |
| 2 | 19:56.08 | CA Buchanan (CS) | Arcadia Invitational1stApr 8, 2022 - Apr 9, 2022 |
| 3 | 20:09.00 | NY Saratoga Springs | CBA-La Salle Relays1stApr 9, 2022 |
| 4 | 20:09.80 | UT Lone Peak | Arcadia Invitational2ndApr 8, 2022 - Apr 9, 2022 |
| 5 | 20:17.73 | CA JSerra Catholic (SS) | Arcadia Invitational3rdApr 8, 2022 - Apr 9, 2022 |
| 6 | 21:07.54 | GA Marist | The Westminster Relays1stMar 26, 2022 |
| 7 | 21:11.27 | CA Torrey Pines (SD) | Falcon Relays1stMar 19, 2022 |
| 8 | 21:13.67 | CA St. Francis Central Coast Catholic (CC) | Arcadia Invitational5thApr 8, 2022 - Apr 9, 2022 |
| 9 | 21:13.78 | CA Monte Vista (NC) | Arcadia Invitational6thApr 8, 2022 - Apr 9, 2022 |
| 10 | 21:16.13 | CA Huntington Beach (SS) | Arcadia Invitational1stApr 8, 2022 - Apr 9, 2022 |
The Panthers became just the fourth team all-time to go under 20 minutes for the distance, joining Great Oak's 2016 squad, Buchanan's 2022 team (19:56.08) and Desert Vista's 2015 foursome (19:59.91).
For perspective, the 4x1600 relay is slightly shorter than the 4xmile (by 36 meters), an event where Saratoga Springs owns the national record in 19:40.67. The Blue Streaks set that time a year ago at Outdoor Nationals.
Newbury Park's effort on Friday was special.
To accomplish the feat, the Panthers employed the efforts of Ailish Hawkins, Tiffany Sax, Morgan Nygren and Samantha McDonnell.
The splits included marks of 4:53.42, 5:04.58, 5:01.59 and 4:49.22.
Photo Credit: Sean Brosnan
