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Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field-April 28
1900—Princeton set a World Record (pre-IAAF) of 8:05.0 in the 2-Mile Relay at the Penn Relays.
Syracuse’s Myer Prinstein bettered the existing World Record in the Long Jump with a leap of 24-7 ¼ (7.50), but there were some reports that he might have had help from a strong tailwind.
Results
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/04/29/102590392.html?pageNumber=10
1906—Michigan set a World Record (pre-IAAF) of 18:10.4 in the 4-Mile Relay at the Penn Relays.
NY Times
Results
1917—George Orton, who competed at the 1st Penn Relays in 1895, took over as the Relays “Manager” (The term “Director” wasn’t used until 1956). The native of Canada, who won the gold medal in the 2500-meter Steeplechase at the 1900 Olympics (45 minutes after winning the bronze medal in the 400-hurdles!), would become known as the Father of Philadelphia hockey!
Orton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orton
www.thedp.com/article/2020/07/george-orton-penn-philadelphia-canada-1900-olympics-track-hockey-forgotten-history
1923—Penn’s World Record in the 2-Mile Relay only lasted a year, with Penn State lowering the mark to 7:48.8 at the Penn Relays with a lineup of Edgar Carter, Russell Edgerton, Schuyler Erick, and Alan Helffrich, who would win a gold medal in the 4×400 at the 1924 Olympics.
Michigan’s DeHart Hubbard won the Long Jump(23-10 ¼ [7.27]) and set a Relays Record in the Triple Jump
(48-10 ¾ [14.90]). He went on to win Olympic gold in the Long Jump in Paris in 1924.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/04/29/105860376.html?pageNumber=124
Results
1928— From Sports Illustrated: “In 1928 Charley Paddock, who had won gold medals in the 100-meter dash and 400-meter relay at the 1920 Olympics, and silver medals in the 200 in 1920 and 1924, asked that a 175-yard dash be added to the (Penn Relays) schedule so that he would have a chance to break his own world record of 17[4/5] seconds. “I am not exactly a youngster anymore,” the 27-year-old Paddock said before the race, “but, you know, I have always wanted to run here. When I was at Southern California, the college would never let me come on for the Penn races.”
“Little did Paddock know that he would end up running for his life. Shortly after 4 p.m. on April 28, the 175-yard dash went off. Paddock was challenged by three Penn sprinters, Folwell Scull, Lamoine Boyle and John Ball. It was a wet day, but a good crowd had turned out. Halfway through the race a 25-foot section of the brick wall bordering the track collapsed under the weight of the straining spectators, about 100 of them spilling onto the track, directly in the path of the sprinters. Paddock, who was in the lane nearest the wall, veered to his left without breaking stride, and finished the race in the inside lane, nevertheless lowering his world record.”
Georgia Tech’s Ed Hamm won the Long Jump(23-8 [7.21] for the 2nd year in a row and went on to win Olympic gold in Amsterdam later in the year (after setting a world Record of 25-11 1/8 (7.90). A 2-time NCAA Champion (1927,1928), he would win at Penn for the 3rd time in 1930.
Yale’s Sabin Carr also won Olympic gold in Amsterdam after setting a Relays Record of 13-0 (3.96+) in the Pole Vault.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/04/29/118338360.html?pageNumber=116
Results
1928—Illinois ran 42.4 at the Drake Relays, tying the World Record in the 440y-Relay.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/04/29/118338362.html?pageNumber=116
1931 – Program for women athletes approved for 1932 Olympics track & field
1934–Hall of Famer Glenn Cunningham won the Penn Relays Mile in 4:11.8. (He would win again in 1938. Cunningham would set a World Record of 4:06.8 in June.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/04/29/94518856.html?pageNumber=119
Results
1934—Fresno State’s Walter Marty cleared 6-9 1/8 (ratified as 2.06) in a dual meet against Stanford to break his own year-old World Record (6-8 5/8 [2.04]) in the High Jump.
Marty had set a U.S. High School Record of 6-4 ¼ (1.93) in 1929 as a senior at Fresno(CA) H.S.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Marty
1945—Complying with the Office of Defense Transportation, which began limiting large gatherings earlier in the year, 90% of invitations to this year’s Penn Relays, went to teams located within a 20-mile radius of the Penn campus.
The U.S. Coast Guard, with Eulace Peacock on the lead-off leg, won the 440y-Relay in 43.3, the 2nd-slowest winning time in Relays history. Army won 3 events– the 880y (1:28.6) and Mile(3:18.7) Relays, and the Shuttle Hurdles(1:03.6).
Michigan won the other 4 relays—2-Mile(7:56.8), 4-Mile (17:44.9), Sprint Medley (3:30.8), and Distance Medley (10:35.2). Ross Hume ran on all 4 teams for the Wolverines, anchoring the SMR and DMR, while his twin brother Bob anchored the 4-Mile Relay and ran the 3rd leg on the 2-Mile Relay.
Known as the “dead-heat twins”, the brothers often made every effort to cross the finish line together in races, sometimes hand-in-hand. They even tied for 1st place in the Mile at the 1944 NCAA Championships, but officials insisted on separating them when they tried the same thing at the 1945 NCAA meet, with the win going to Ross.
Results
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Ross_Hume
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1945/04/29/113382083.html?pageNumber=80
1951–Three years before he made history by running the first sub-4 minute mile, Oxford’s Roger Bannister won the Penn Relays Mile in 4:08.3.
A Manhattan College foursome of John O’Connell, Joe Schatzle, Lindy Remigino, and Bob Carty swept the 440y (41.7) and 880y (1:25.5) Relays. Remigino would win gold medals in the 100 and 4×100 at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.
Cornell, with Charlie Moore running a 47.6 3rd leg, set a Relays Record of 3:13.1 in the Mile Relay. Moore was also on the winning Shuttle Hurdles team (59.5) and won his 3rd straight Penn title in the 400-meter hurdles (51.8). As noted in the 1949 report, he went on to win the gold medal in the hurdles at the 1952 Olympics. Teammate Meredith Gourdine, who ran the lead-off leg on the Mile Relay, would win the silver medal in the Long Jump in 1952.
Another runner who went on to win Olympic gold (in the 200) in 1952 was Seton Hall’s Andy Stanfield, who won the 100-yard dash in 9.8 and the Long Jump for the 2nd year in a row with a Relays Record leap of 25-4 ½ (7.73).
Penn State, with Don and Bill Ashenfelter handling the middle legs, won the 4-Mile Relay (17:24.6) for the 4th time in 5 years.
Anchoring NYU’s winning team in the Sprint Medley (3:24.8/4th title in 5 years) was Larry Ellis, who went on to become the head coach at Princeton for 22 years. He was the President of USATF from 1992-1996 and was the Head U.S. Men’s Coach at the 1984 Olympics.
Results
Remigino: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/lindy-remigino
Gourdine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Gourdine
Ellis: https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2018/7/26/mens-track-and-field-larry-ellis.aspx
1962—Willye White was the winner of the first women’s event held at the Penn Relays—the 100-yard dash (10.9). Finishing 5th was Louise Mead-Tricard, who would publish two comprehensive books on American Women’s Track & Field.
16 at the time, White was the silver medalist in the Long Jump at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. She would win a 2nd Olympic silver medal in the 4×100 Relay in 1964 and was a member of 5 Olympic teams! She was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 1981.
Results
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willye_White
Mead-Tricard: https://or.milesplit.com/articles/20029
https://books.google.com/books/about/American_Women_s_Track_and_Field_1981_20.html?id=IKGamAEACAAJ
1962—Dave Tork cleared 16-2 (4.93) at the Mt.SAC Relays to set a World Record in the Pole Vault. John Uelses set the previous mark of 16-1/2 (4.89) a month earlier.
1963—C.K. Yang scored 9,206 points at the Mt.SAC Relays to break the previous World Record of 8,683, which was set in 1960 by Rafer Johnson, his friend and former UCLA teammate. (Adjusted scores based on current tables: 8,010-7,981).
Note: The official score was 9121, but the correct score should have been 9206 (because Yang’s 4.84 PV went beyond the upper limits of the published scoring table.
1968—Lamar coach Ty Terrell and five of his athletes (Randy Clewis, Don Laune, Waverly Thomas, Mike Favazza and John Richardson) were returning from the Drake Relays when the private plane they were on crashed a mile short of the Beaumont(Tx) airfield, killing all on board.
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Lamar-track-stars-recount-deadly-plane-crash-5436318.php#page-1
1973—A day after winning the 4xMile at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Bowling Green and its star anchor, Dave Wottle, the 1972 Olympic champion at 800-Meters, were hoping to complete an ambitious double by winning the same event at the Penn Relays. Alas, it was not to be, as Villanova’s 1st 3 legs—freshman Eamonn Coghlan (4:09.9), Brian McElroy (4:06.4), and Ken Schappert (4:11.7) built a big enough lead for anchor John Hartnett (4:03.7) that Wottle was never close enough to mount a challenge. The Wildcats ran 16:31.7 and beat the tired Midwesterners (16:45.9) by 100-yards.
1972 Olympian Rick Wohlhuter anchored (1:49.6) the University of Chicago Track Club to a win in the Olympic Development Sprint Medley (3:24.5).
NY Times
Results
1979–Renaldo Nehemiah takes great pride in the three world records that he set in the 110-hurdles, but, he says, “I get asked more about that day at Penn than I do about my records”. And with good reason–Nehemiah put on a show on the final day at the Penn Relays that demoralized his opponents and still has fans shaking their heads when they remember that day.
Here’s what I wrote in Eastern Track at the time:
“It rained during most of Thursday’s women’s program, poured that evening while the distance races were going on, rained off and on for the next two days, and everyone was muttering about the unfairness of it all, after months of anticipation for this annual spectacle. That is, until late Saturday afternoon, when Renaldo Nehemiah provided his own form of sunshine.” (Renaldo had set the first of his three world records in the 110-hurdles just two weeks before Penn).
He first anchored Maryland to victory in the shuttle-hurdles relay (clocked unofficially in 13.3), but then came the two races that helped set the standard for the “Woooo” Index. He ran two incredible come-from-behind anchor legs that gave the Terrapins wins in the 4×200 (1:23.55) and 4×400 relays (3:07.12). Recalls Nehemiah, who now represents athletes, “My most vivid memory is of my 4×400 anchor leg. Although that day, which was cold and dreary, is remembered by so many for the way in which I overcame huge deficits, I still remember the agonizing pain I had once I crossed the finish line of that last race. When I finally recovered from that 400 leg, the stadium was completely empty. I was in so much pain, I actually thought I was going to have a heart attack.”
Penn Memories-Nehemiah
(Nehemiah, who had already anchored the winning shuttle hurdles relay (56.7) at 2:10pm, breaks down the next two races)
“…the 4×200 (5:00) actually hurt the most while I was actually running it. When I got the stick, we were behind what appeared to be about 15-20 meters. All I know is that I was embarrassed and just wanted to make it look competitive on the home stretch. I figured even in a defeat, it wouldn’t look so bad if I gained substantially and then faded. When I approached the last turn, I realized that I wasn’t that far behind. Maybe some 7-8 meters. So, I just put my head down and responded to the crowd’s frenzied state. And that’s how I passed the other runners within the last five meters. (unofficial split-19.4!) That one kicked my butt physically, because I had to sprint all out for the entire race. That’s not usually how a 200 is run.
When it came around to the 4×400 final (6:00), I was already somewhat tired. And didn’t care that much about winning. I just wanted Maryland to look respectable. But that was going to be difficult. Because, following the previous day’s qualifying round in which I ran the 2nd leg, coach Frank Costello in a team meeting decided to put me on anchor. And my teammate, Chris Person(400mh), took it personally and was visibly upset. Although the coach and the other members felt Chris was good, they all stated that they would rather have me on the anchor if it was close. So, on race day, I’m the anchor and wouldn’t you know it, our lead-off leg, normally a 47 point runner, ran 48-49 seconds. We were instantly well behind.
And we made no gains out of the next two legs. When I got the stick, it appeared to me that the other runners were almost already taking the 2nd turn and headed down the backstretch. Angered and really embarrassed, I took the stick and sprinted a hard as I could to make up some ground. And although I knew I was running faster than advisable, I figured I’d hold on again until the final turn before hitting the wall. I figured it would be okay to lose at that point since I was so far behind. I would save face.
But, wouldn’t you know that those fans on the third turn are wild and crazy! As I was approaching the turn just trying not to fall apart. I felt, heard and sensed the roars starting to get louder. I even heard the chanting and the drums from the Jamaicans. I immediately tried to respond by starting my kick just to add a last minute desperate surge before dying. And it was if my body went numb and had no feeling. So, I just ran harder and harder as the noise got louder. And before I knew it, I could see (Villanova’s) Tim Dale and the finish line about 20 meters in front of me. As I was really starting to be overwhelmed by the pain, I dug one more time with all I had, and surged past a fading Dale and believe I won by a couple of meters. (split-44.3!)
When I finally appeared from the training room some hour and a half later, I told myself that I would not ever feel that type of pain again in my life. And I never ran another 400m again.
I’m amazed that so many people actually attended the relays that year, and continue to tell me how they’ve never seen a performance like that before. All in one day. I’m just happy that I was blessed to have been able to deliver. And to have left quite an impression on the many who were there, and to those who wished they were there. I was always motivated by the “Wow” theory. And on that day, I guessed I “Wowed’ them.”
Overshadowed by Nehemiah’s performance was Don Paige, who helped Villanova win 3 of their 4 titles with splits of 1:49.8 (4×800/7:20.3), 1:47.0 (SMR/3:16.45, and 2:52.5 (DMR/9:29.9).
Results
Sports Illustrated Coverage
NY Times Coverage
1979—Steve Scott had to withdraw from the Mile at the 1978 Drake Relays, but promised to come back the following year and break 4-minutes. With famed PA announcer Jim Duncan getting the crowd into it during the race, Scott made good on his promise (and then some) by running a quick 3:55.3 this year.
That night, he was at a local disco in Des Moines where he was recognized and received a rousing ovation when he was introduced to the appreciative crowd by the DJ!
1984—4 Collegiate Records were set at the Penn Relays
Men
4×1500—14:52.81 Villanova Sean O’Neill (3:47.6), Brian O’Keeffe (3:42.7), John Keyworth (3:43.9), and Marcus
O’Sullivan (3:38.6)
Women
5000—15:29.0 PattiSue Plumer (Stanford)
4×800—8:20.22 Tennessee Karol Davidson (2:06.8), Alisa Harvey (2:05.4), Cathy Rattray (2:04.7), Joetta Clark(2:03.4)
4th year in a row that Clark anchored the Vols to a win in this event)
Distance Medley—10:53.27 Villanova Mary Ellen McGowan (3:21.4), Veronica McIntosh (55.7), Patty Bradley (2:01.3),
Lauren Searby (4:34.9)…also an American Record and the 1st of the Wildcats’ 16 wins in this event
SMU’s Michael Carter won the Men’s Shot Put for the 3rd year in a row and broke his own Relays Record by more than
2 feet with his winning toss of 68-4 ¼(20.83). He also won the Discus(191-0[58.22]) and went on to win the silver medal in the Shot Put at the L.A. Olympics later in the season.
Results
1984—Southern Illinois set a Collegiate Record of 3:00.78 in the 4×400 relay at the Drake Relays with a lineup of Parry Duncan (45.6), Tony Adams (45.6), Elvis Forde (45.1), and Michael Franks (44.5). Runnerup Oklahoma ran 3:01.46, also under Baylor’s previous CR of 3:01.98.
A 2nd CR was set by Iowa State’s Nawal el Moutawakel, a 22-year old freshman from Morocco, who won the 400-Meter Hurdles in 55.37. She became the 1st female Olympic Champion in the event in L.A. later in the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nawal_El_Moutawakel
1988–Alabama A&M’s Jearl Miles (Clark) won the College Long Jump at the Penn Relays with a leap of 21-2 ¾ (6.47m). Miles (Clark), of course, went on to have a Hall-of-Fame career as one of the best 400 and 800 meter runners in the world.
She was the gold medalist in the 400 at the 1993 World Outdoor and 1997 World Indoor Championships and set an American Record of 1:56.40 for 800-meters in 1999 (since broken).
Less than a month shy of her 38th birthday, she finished 6th in the 800 at the 2004 Olympics (her 4th) in Athens.
Villanova set a “World Record” (not an official WR event at the time) of 10:48.38 in the Women’s Distance Medley. While the WR has been broken since then, the mark stood up as the Relays and Collegiate Outdoor Record until 2024, when Harvard ran 10:37.55. Running for the Wildcats were Kathy Franey (3:20.9), Michelle Bennett (52.9), Celeste Halliday (2:04.7), and Vicki Huber (4:29.9).
Results
1989–Joe Falcon’s 3:53.8 anchor led Arkansas to a World Record in the Distance Medley at the Penn Relays (9:20.10). That record stood until a team from Kenya ran 9:15.56 in the USA vs the World series at the 2006 Penn Relays, but the Razorbacks still hold the Collegiate Outdoor Record. Mt.St. Mary’s was close behind in 9:21.44, with anchor Kip Cheruiyot running 3:53.0 for his 1600m leg (fastest ever at Penn). Running the lead-off leg for the Mount was Peter Rono, the 1988 Olympic champion at 1500-meters.
NY Times Coverage
Arkansas: (Reuben Reina 2:53.9, Charles Williams 46.4, Robert Bradley 1:46.0, Joe Falcon 3:53.8)
Mount: (Peter Rono 2:53.4, Davison Lishebo 45.7, Charles Cheruiyot 1:49.3, Kip Cheruiyot 3:53.0)
Results
2000—South Lakes(Va) junior Alan Webb ran a great 3:59.9 anchor 1600 in the Boys Distance Medley at the Penn Relays, but it wasn’t enough to catch Conor Sweeney, who led St.Malachy’s (Belfast,Ireland) to its 4th straight win in the event(10:00.70-10:02.32).
It was a race filled with drama, with the lead-off runner from St.Malachy’s dropping the baton as runners fought for position on the first turn. He recovered quickly, though, and patiently made his way back near the front at the handoff.
When Webb started his anchor carry, he was in 11th place, some 10-seconds behind Sweeney. Keying on the runners in front of him, Webb went through the first two splits in 59.5 and 2:01.4—fast, but within Webb’s capabilities.
Webb was still far behind Sweeney when he hit the bell lap in 3:02.6, but he was still making up ground on the leader. Sweeney, who had anchored St.Malachy to the Relays Record of 9:59.84 the previous year, knew Webb was coming, but had plenty in reserve and was able to bring his team home comfortably in front at the finish.
Webb ran his final 400-meters in 57.3 and jumped for joy when his sub-4 split, the first ever for a prep, was announced.
Sweeney and his DMR mates came back the next day (4-29) to win the 4×800 in 7:38.86.
Webb returned to Penn the following year to lead South Lakes to wins in the DMR (4-27/9:59.66/Relays Record at the time) and the 4×800 (4-28/7:41.75).
The College Men’s DMR produced a David and Goliath battle, with Connecticut, thanks to an inspired anchor by Dan Wilson, upsetting mighty Arkansas, which had won the event 13 of the previous 17 years.
Wilson got the baton right behind Sharif Karie, who had anchored the Razorbacks to a win at the NCAA Indoor Championships(UConn was 4th). Karie let the pace slow down(2:06-800), allowing other teams to join the battle up front.
That was fine with Wilson, who had confidence in his kick. Sure enough, Wilson sped into the lead just before they hit the final turn, and won the all-out sprint over Karie to give the Huskies their first-ever win at Penn(9:33.02-9:33.05).
Said elated coach Greg Roy, “(This) is a dream come true for me. I grew up in East Brunswick,NJ, and I’ve been taking the train to come here since I was 14,15 years old. I’ve seen the Villanova dynasty and the Arkansas dynasty(in the DMR). It’s been beyond great for me”.
Penn Memories—Dan Wilson
“I remember two days before heading to Penn our DMR was milling around the track after practice and I said to Coach (Greg) Roy, “You know, we really could…’I trailed off at the end. We all knew what I was thinking but none of us wanted to actually say it. The thought of beating Arkansas, of actually winning the Penn Relays, was still very much a dream.
The same four guys had finished 4th indoors at NCs in the DMR so we knew we were good but we were all local kids and not nearly on the level that the Arkansas guys were on. The race couldn’t have played out any better; Our first two legs (Kevin Jensen-2:56.0 and Haven Barnes-46.9) kept us in the race and our 800 guy, Elliott Blount, ran the fastest split(1:47.6) and gave me the baton side by side with Sharif Karie. Karie got the baton behind me and beat me indoors and was the HS mile national champ when we were seniors in HS (his PR was 14 seconds faster than mine in HS) and I was very much aware of who he was and what he had done. I was content to let Sharif lead and take my chances with a kicker’s race and, after a first 800 of 2:06, it became evident that he too thought he would win in a kick. The slow first 800 allowed about six other teams back into the race and with 600 to go things were bunching up. I made sure to stay up front, either in the lead or on the leaders’ shoulder, covering every move.With just over 200 meters to go I went. The last 200, because of the slow start, was pretty much all out. Coming off the turn I glanced back and Sharif was right there, on my shoulder. As my legs began to lock up I concentrated on one thing only- getting to the finish line. Eventually, after what felt like a five minute one hundered meters, I hit the line with Sharif .03 behind me. Neither one of us were able to gain more than an inch on each other in the last 200.The race was won with 215 meters to go when I made my move. If Sharif had gone first, he probably would have won. I remember looking up after we won and seeing my teammates running straight at me from the paddick area. They were in a full sprint and I could barely stand up. They grabbed me and basically pulled me on a victory lap.It was such a euphoric feeling to have actually won. I remember feeling like everything was in a haze, but part of that was probably because we had just closed in 54 seconds and my legs were screaming at me to stop running. To this day, that was the most amazing win I’ve ever been a part of. Although I was running well before the race, the win gave me a lot of confidence. That season my PR improved from 3:50 to 3:39. I won Big East, New Englands and IC4as and qualified for the Olympic Trials.”
Results
NY Times Coverage
Dyestat’s H.S. Coverage: http://archive.dyestat.com/rivals/193805.html
2007—There were two memorable races at the Penn Relays this year—Columbia’s upset win in the Men’s 4×800, and Long Beach Poly’s win in the H.S. Boys 4×400, with Bryshon Nellum holding off Yohan Blake for the win.
Coincidentally, to commemorate their 10th anniversary in 2017, both events were given the respect they deserved as Liam Boylan-Pett wrote about the race he helped Columbia win, while Dave Devine brought back memories of the H.S. 4×400, one of the greatest races I’ve ever seen.
Bob Hersh, a Columbia grad, was the PA announcer for the Relays and had to fight hard to contain his excitement as Boylan-Pett came down the final stretch!
Here Comes Columbia: https://journal.tracksmith.com/here-comes-columbia
When Every Fan Leaned Forward—
www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=news&news_id=472938
Here is my full account of the 4×400 race, written for Eastern Track:
It doesn’t get any better than this. All of the elements were in place–a strong Jamaican contingent, supported by thousands of flag-waving fans, going up against a powerful team from California. And there was the prospect of an anchor duel between two of the most talented preps to ever run at Penn. Few events live up to their hype, but this one exceeded all expectations.
The crowd of 46,000 was in a frenzy even before the starting gun was fired and the deafening roar continued throughout the race. Calabar was a clear leader for the first 200-meters of the opening leg, but Jason Livermore(49.6) tied up down the stretch and it was St.Jago (Riker Hylton-47.9) which led Cal
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