* Brianna Lyston in the final straightaway of the girls COA 4x400 on Friday
Photo Credit: Joe Swift/MileSplit
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PHILADELPHIA -- It was Orrica McAnnoff's job to break away, and then Brianna Lyston's objective to take it home.
And on Friday in the Championship of America 4x400 presented by Grace Foods at the Penn Relays, that's exactly what the Hydel (JAM) girls did.
Only they did it in the most dramatic fashion possible.
The foursome from Jamaica absolutely shattered their meet record from 2017, clocking an insane 3:32.77 to demolish the field, one that included six teams under 3:45.
And yet, that might be underselling it.
The performance also stands as a new U20 No. 1 effort for the 2022 season, chopping off four seconds from the Jamaican U20's time of 3:36.81 from April 18 at National Stadium.
Moreover, the performance was so good that it also underscored significant achievements from the two other trailing teams, Edwin Allen (JAM) and Bullis School (MD).
Edwin Allen was second in 3:39.76, while Bullis School converted on a new U.S. No. 1 time of 3:40.88. The girls team from Maryland was also just a second shy of their school record of 3:39.30.
In the end, Hydel was there to perform, and to reclaim the title. The program last won in 2018 and the win gave the school its third title in the 4x400 overall.
Lyston described her effort:
"I thought it would be more challenging. It was," she said. "But I just came out here and did what my coach asked me to do, and I did it for my team."
Interestingly enough, though, Hydel didn't even have the meet record -- which clocked in 2017 in 3:33.99 -- on their mind.
"We just wanted to defend our title," she said.
But nevertheless, Lyston and Co. left happy. Satisfied even?
"I am," she said.
Photo Credit: Don Rich/MileSplit
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Martin Just Misses Sub-4 Mile: Just two weeks off of running 4-flat in the mile, anticipation was high that Gary Martin would become the first Pennsylvania athlete to break the mystical barrier on the grandest stage in the state. After putting himself in reasonable striking distance in the first three laps, Martin fell short on the bell lap but completed a wire-to-wire to win in 4:01.04, obliterating the meet record of 4:04.47 set in 2013 by Sean McGorty.
The Virginia-bound senior went out right on pace, coming through 409 meters in 60.63 seconds. His next 400 meters was a 60.22 to bring him through 809 meters in 2:00.85 -- right on the pace he was aiming for. Then he ran his third lap in 59.66 to bring him to 1,209 meters in 3:00.50
Ultimately, Martin ran his last 400 meters in 1:00.54 to miss sub-four by just over a second.
"There was a lot of pain," Martin said after the race. "I was trying to hold on and stay strong and close hard. I didn't close as hard as I wanted to. I'm a little disappointed, but it's part of the learning experience. We'll get better from it and hopefully next time out there I'll break four."
Read more about Martin's victory and watch his race here.
Union Catholic Hangs On To Win DMR: As one of the premier programs in the nation, Union Catholic had pretty much won every possible major title except a Penn Relays wheel. The wait for that elusive Championship of America award is over.
UC finally broke through as sophomore Jimmy Wischusen, senior Nick Givan, senior Myles Plummer and senior Shane Brosnan combined to win the distance medley relay in 10:14.42. Brosnan held off a furious charge by Devan Kipyego, who brought St. Raphael (RI) across second in 10:15.21.
Wischusen got things rolling with a strong opening leg of 3:11.44 as he moved up to second-place with a powerful push over the final 150 meters. Givan then blasted a race-changing 49.77 400 leg to open a gap on the field. Plummer followed with a 1:58.05 800m leg to hand off a two-second lead to Brosnan.
The Harvard-bound senior went out aggressively, dropping a 61.2 first 400 as he opened a 40-meter lead on the chase pack. But he paid the price over the final 300 for his ambitious early pace and as Kipyego embarked on his monster kick.
Kipyego, who split 4:04.35, pulled within five meters of Brosnan on the homestretch but ran out of track. Read more about Union Catholic's victory here and watch the race below.
New Meet Record in Girls 4x100m: The Edwin Allen team of Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Brandy Hall and Tia Clayton rewrote this history books in the girls 4x100m Championship of America, winning the title in a blistering 43.18. The time erased the school's previous meet record of 43.68 in the event. Cole and the Clayton twins were also on the record-setting relay in 2019. Jamaica swept the top five places in the race. Top American honors went to the IMG Academy team of Sanaa Rae Morris, Anika Thomas, Amani Kirnon and Columba Effiong finished sixth overall in 46.68.
Edwin Allen Cruises To 4x800m Title: The anticipated showdown between Edwin Allen and Union Catholic in the girls 4x800m Championship of America turned into a runaway as the Jamaican squad cruised to its second straight victory in 8:54.58. Edwin Allen's splits were 2:12.22 for Rickeisha Simms, 2:17.78 for Leanna Lewis, 2:11.96 for Rushana Dwyer, and 2:12.62 for Jessica McLean. Union Catholic, which entered with the top American qualifying time, was in the thick of the race until third leg Jenna Keith tied up and collapsed to the track just meters from making the baton exchange. That allowed Cuthbertson (NC) to pass by into second place en route to a runner-up finish in 9:04.67. Union Catholic anchor Peyton Hollis had the fastest split of the race at 2:08.92 to bring her team across third in 9:06.14.
New National Leader In 3K: Larry Josh Edwards of University (WV) used a strong final two laps to pull away for a five-second victory in the boys 3,000m championship, crossing in a new US No. 1 time of 8:20.31. The Oregon-bound senior was well positioned in a tight group out front as Luke Coffin of Annapolis (MD) led a tactical opening half of the race. Edwards moved to the front at the 1,800m mark before slipping behind Callum Sherry of Conard (CT) with 800m to go. From there, however, Edwards closed in 2:07.15 to outdistance Sherry (8:25.86) and Coffin (8:29.75).
It'll Be Maryland vs. Jamaica in 4x100m COA: Calvert Hall advanced out of the heats of the 4x100m with the fourth-fastest time of the day and will be the lone American team competing in tomorrow's Championship of America. The team of Ricardo Cooper, Rahkeem Smith, Richard Andrews, and Jason-Holmes Williamson finished second in their heat in 41.39. The time is a new MD No. 1 and improved on Calvert Hall's season best of 42.04. The rest of the field will be all Jamaican, led by Camperdown which got the stick around smoothly in 40.96, the lone sub-41 time of the day.
NJ Puts Three Into 4x800m Championship: Ridge led a strong New Jersey showing in the boys 4x800m heats, as three teams for the Garden State advanced to the Championship of America. Ridge won the final heat in 7:59.23 to advance. Westfield, with a huge 1:53.87 from senior Charles Stock, won its heat in 7:59.45 to make its first COA since 1997, and Chatham ran 8:01.45 and will make its COA debut. Jamaica College, the overwhelming favorite after running 7:24.30 at the Gibson McCook Relays earlier this season, ran a very comfortable 7:53.41 to earn the top seed in the final. Read more about the qualifying heats and hear from Ridge here.
--Joe Battaglia, Jim Lambert and Dan Beck contributed to this report