Central Bucks West boys 4×8 races to 11th in Championship of America

PHILADELPHIA >> Competing against some of the best 4×800-meter relay teams in the world and one of only two Pennsylvania squads to even qualify, the Central Bucks West boys raced to 11th place Saturday in the Championship of America, held in front of a spirited crowd of 44,469 at packed Franklin Field.

“It didn’t go exactly as we planned. We didn’t hit our time,” Bucks anchor Rock Fortna said, “but those days are gonna happen and you gotta push through it.”

West still went under eight minutes, as a team of Carter Zerweck (1:58.45), Jake Claricurzio (1:59.03), Teagan Fortna (2:04.37) and Rock Fortna (1:56.71) put together a time of 7:58.54, beating out Bellefield of Jamaica (8:01.33) in an elite field of 12.

St. Jago of Jamaica set a blistering pace, taking top honors with a 7:33.71 on this cool, breezy final day of the 122nd Running of the Penn Relays.

Early in the evening, the Wissahickon 4×4 raced to fourth in the Philadelphia Area race, with a team of Ethan Dolberry-Wescott (51.94), Rahsheed Wright (49.58), Cam Christopher (50.75) and Darien Williams (48.45) combining to go 3:20.72.

In the Philadelphia Area girls race, Penn Wood beat Cheltenham at the finish line by just 12 hundredths of a second for first place. The Panthers’ Bria Barnes (55.98), Chanel Brisset (56.66), Dior Alston (59.76) and Alexis Crosby (54.44) earned the runner-up spot with a 3:46.81.

The West boys earned some pretty valuable experience for what they hope is a big postseason ahead.

“It’s a big stage,” Fortna said of Saturday, “and although we didn’t do so hot today, it’s good to be under the pressure that we were under, to get ready to do it again later in the season.”

The Bucks cranked out a 7:49 in the qualifying race on Friday, fifth best amongst the 4×8 squads. Saturday would be just the second time that 4×8 foursome ran together, the qualifying race on Friday being the first.

“Coming into today, as much as we cared about how well we did, we still made it to the championship,” Fortna said. “I don’t want to take away from the fact that we ran great (Friday) and we got here, which only a hand full of teams get to do.”

The only other team from PA in the race was State College, which was able to grab fourth place, going 7:44.74. Franklin Field provided a unique experience for all competing.

“The crowd is amazing,” Fortna said. “There’s no other time you have a crowd this big for a track meet. To have people yelling at you to run hard — even if they don’t know your name or what school you come from, it’s a special experience and one you definitely enjoy.”

After placing fourth in the 4×1 Championship of the World on Friday, the Cheltenham girls set an event record in the 4×1 Tri-State on Saturday — their time of 46.36 surpassing the 46.60 they ran last year — with a team of Barnes, Brielle Lewis, Crosby and Brissett.

Norristown’s foursome of Jonae Cook, Siani Sanders, Shelia Day and Jayana Webb raced to second with a 47.08 and Pennridge earned third, a team of Holly Harbeck, Jessica Milligan, Zoe Williams and Kouri Peace going 48.08.

La Salle placed second in the 4×1 Large Schools Race, as a team of Chris Della Donna, Winston Eubanks, Kyle Johnson and Charles Headen went 42.41.

Out in the field, Hatboro-Horsham’s Nicholas Marino earned a sixth-place finish in the Pole Vault Championship, clearing 13 feet, 11 and a quarter inches. Marino was third out of all PA competition in the event.

Also, Germantown Academy’s Kyle Garland placed ninth overall and second out of PA competition with a leap of 6-5 in the High Jump Championship. Garland’s day wasn’t done, as the Patriot 4×4 team of K.J. Cartwright (51.55), Alejandro Gonzalez (53.46), Garland (50.38) and Devon Goodman (50.72) won a thrilling Inter-AC race, crossing in 3:26.09 to top the 3:27.92 by Haverford.