Penn Relays: Odunjo changes into dancing shoes after busy day
PHILADELPHIA — Give Timmy Odunjo a break if he didn’t have much energy to dance at Penn Wood’s Junior Prom Saturday night.
After all, he did have a pretty full day before he rushed home to shower, change and head to the prom.
The president of Penn Wood’s junior class ran four races at the 125th Penn Relays at Franklin Field, the first starting at 9 a.m. and the final one concluding close to 6 p.m.
Odunjo’s day started with a 13th-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles (55.78 seconds). He’s ranked No. 1 in the state in the 300 hurdles, but this was only the second time Odunjo has competed in the 400-meter version.
“I should have just run it how I run the 300 hurdles,” Odunjo said. “It wasn’t my best race, but that’s OK. I’ll have more opportunities to run it this summer and next year.”
The extra 100 meters is a big change, but Odunjo said he likes the longer distance.
“I feel that when I get better at it I’ll favor the 400 hurdles more,” Odunjo said. “It will be a hearty change when I get to college.”
A little over two hours later, Odunjo teamed up with Duncan Tarphen, Davon Battle and James Nmah to win the Suburban A 4 x 400 (3:25.75) thanks to a 50.26 anchor split by Nmah. That effort qualified the Patriots for the Philadelphia area 4 x 400 where they finished third behind Neshaminy and Camden.
“That wasn’t our best time,” Odunjo said after the win in the Suburban A race. “That’s five seconds slower than we normally run.”
Odunjo then led off the team of Tayvon Williams, Tarphen and Battle that finished ninth in the Northeast Region 4 x 100. Then it was the Philadelphia Area 4 x 400 before he zipped off to the prom.
“As the president, I have to be there,” Odunjo said.
Upper Darby (George Okyne, Aaron Williams, Christian McCaffrey and Sidney Turner) won the Central League 4 x 400 in 3:25.60. Turner’s blistering 48.55 anchor carry gave the Royals the win over Radnor.
“Wow,” Turner said. “Last week I ran a 49.7 coming off an injury. I knew I had to go out strong and do it for my team.”
The victory qualified the Royals for the Philadelphia Area final, where they were sixth in 3:30.99.
Episcopal Academy’s Jack Bush, Malcolm Folk, Sam Wilson and Chris Zimmerman set the school record while winning the Inter-Ac 4 x 400. The quartet ran 3:22.66 to beat Haverford School.
“Our coaches have been training us for weeks,” said Zimmerman, who’s 49.18 anchor split gave the Churchmen the title. “We were well prepared for this.”
The win qualified the Churchmen for the Philadelphia area final they were eighth. The Haverford School may have been there, too, if not for a dropped baton. Dan Whaley was neck-and-neck with Zimmerman coming down the stretch when he lost the stick. He was able to pick it up and finish second.
“I came up on him and started to make a move,” Whaley said. “That’s all I can say.”
Whaley and the Fords were able to bounce back a few hours later. Whaley teamed with Guillaume Laforest, Caleb Reed and Daiyaan Hawkins, the same group that ran the 4 x 400, to finish fourth in the Northeast 4 x 100 and break the school record with a time of 42.48 seconds.
“Our goal was to run 42-low and we did that,” Hawkins said. “And we just got done running the 4 x 4. That’s really amazing.”
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NOTES >> A solid anchor leg by Enoobong Eka helped Bonner & Prendergast finish second in the Catholic League 4 x 400. Nwabueze Onyemachi, Rasheed Thomas and Jarrett Moses were also part of that team. … Garnet Valley’s Larry Coaxum finished 14th in the triple jump (44-6 ¾).
