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ybSports Newsteam,

 

Philadelphia, Pa.

As I walked through the famed archway leading into the field area where the 118 running was being held, I realized that it was Saturday…Saturday, this was to be the final day of all “relay” competition. A sudden sadness quickly came over me as the realization that this three day extravaganza was about to end. In a move that was a bit uncharacteristic for me, I began heading towards the steps that lead to the seating area and I started climbing. Once I had ascended to a level where the viewing felt comfortable enough for me to take in the entire scene, I slowly turned around to face the field full of competitors, and very slowly, I took a deep breath, then I sat down. Overwhelmed, with the beauty of it all I thought to myself, “praise em early, and enjoy them later. The reference was aimed directly at giving thanks and appreciation to the accumulation of young men and women assembled together under one roof to standby a promise they had made to uphold a commitment to give their all for the sake of school, self, community and team mate.

For all intent and purposes it is a commitment that clearly says that they stand for a purpose, a purpose that speaks unequivocally to all who paid the price of sacrifice,.. their loyal team mates, and it says, “I have committed to this purpose with you, and I got your back.”  For many this moment will be an opportunity to stand by a promise to uphold that commitment, but for many others it will be a defining moment that could turn on a light that could ultimately change their lives, forever.  The light they seek at the end of their tunnel just might signal the birth of a splendid start to a promising future, and what they do with their opportunity could determine just how brightly that light will shine going forward, or how wonderful those blessings will be.  One of the biggest challenges many of us face in seeking the road to growth and prosperity is to know when, and how to get out of our own way, but this is one of the things that you learn to navigate during your developmental phase that prepares you for the Relays, and just prior to enjoying your first experience at the Penn. Sometimes we really are our biggest enemy as many of you have surely come to know this through tribulations. I’ve enjoyed many Penn Relays in past years, but these last three days have been nothing short of spectacular in every way.

Filled with several surprise victories by unexpected dark horses and crowd pleasing performances by the USA Men’s and Women’s Blue and Red teams, the reception by the crowd showed just how much they appreciated these special performances. The USA Olympic Blue and Red teams won all three of their relays in the USA versus the World Series of races, but the real highlight of the day took place in the infield and it had nothing to do with high jumping, long jumping, or pole vaulting. It had everything to do with bridging a relationship between the Jamaican Track & Field coalition and the University of Pennsylvania, whose staff and entire heiarchy were in full out representation of all of those who supports the relays. This was evident by the personal involvement and pride shown by it's leader, the University of Pennsylvania President. As the Jamaican Sports Track and Field President took center stage with the University of Pennsylvania President, those in attendance roared their appreciation over the magnitude of this special occasion, as the attending Jamaican contingent started to act out the wave at one corner of the stadium which created a rippling effect that was carried outward throughout the rest of the stadium. The feeling was incredible, and if you didn’t have goose bumps’ covering your entire body, then you probably aren’t human, but more importantly was the recognition that one could hardly reject the notion that at that precise moment it was quite obvious that the Penn Relays is, and always will be, an event for the people.

 

 

Below Penn State University celebrate their upset win in the College Championship of the Americas  4 x 800 relays

 

Photography; Russ Harris

 Owen Dawson, Robby Creese, Connor Manley and Casimir Loxsom show the crowd some love after winning the 4 x 800 College Championship of the Americas Relay Race. 

 

 

 ALL HAIL THE LOCAL CONTINGENT AFTER CLOSING DOWN THE PENN RELAYS WITH A BANG

 

 

 

Confidence and desire can be many things, but the two things they are not are unsure and unwanted. Central Bucks West Girls 4 x 400 meter relay team along with the North Penn and Pennridge Boys 4 x 400 meter relay teams did some representing on the track Friday and Saturday afternoons at venerable Franklin Field and neither of the teams mentioned above suffered from the two aforementioned words. The Central Bucks West girls pulled off one of the days more exciting finishes when Jamila Branch ran a smoldering anchor leg to finish in first place and in the process exercised a few demons when she overtook Ky Richardson of Pennsbury and a very strong and talented Pennsbury relay team. The Lady Falcons had beaten West a week earlier at the Central Bucks West track & field invitational in Doylestown, Pa. That foursome was comprised of the same makeup including Branch, Kelsey Horst, Courtney Taylor, and Lizanne Furst. The North Penn Boys relays team of Dan Gevirtz, Matt Ross, Eric Rothenberger and Chris Trimble made it through the qualifier race to run in the finals, but fell short in their quest of capturing a title in the 4 x 400 Suburban National relay. Pennridge High’s Boys relay team finished last in their attempt to pull off a miracle win when they were matched up against some serious competition in event number 486, the 4 x 800 Championship of the Americas Relays. For all of their efforts the participants should be awarded a medal of honor, and most importantly acknowledged as winners in everyone’s book, but aside from that one crystal clear message should resonate from the courage and the promise exemplified this weekend in Philadelphia by these local schools and against the type of competition they may never face at this level again. That message is;

 

PLAN AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, THEN COMPETE LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW

 

 

Highlight of the afternoon and SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS to those most deserving go to;

 

 

 

CB West’s sensational Jamila Branch: she gets my, “go big money girl” shout out for her ability to tightrope along the rail while carrying a baton, and fighting off a furious Pennsbury opponent en route to overpowering her opponent down the front stretch while pulling off a dramatic victory.

 

You know you’ve arrived when …you are in a race stacked with a who’s who list of traditional powerhouses and you can’t help but show your displeasure after finishing near the middle of the pack, or worse. Hail to the North Penn boys superb relay quartet, You get a special shout out for hanging tough during all of your gut wrenching races you endured throughout the three day carnival.

 

And...

 

I’ve saved the best for last:

 

You know you’ve arrived when…you act surprised with the person questioning you, and wondering where do they actually come off at having the audacity to ask such a question, so you respond with a (I feel a little bit insulted by that question look)… Responding to my question to the Pennridge Girls relay team members when asked what they were doing in one of the Penn Relays most visible races, and against some of the toughest competition the event had to offer a high school athlete, the 4 x 100 Championship of the Tri State Area relay race. The obvious answer is, they had won their spot on the track and they had done it the old fashioned way, they earned it. Truth is,  had I been paying well enough attention, I would have seen their gritty performance and wouldn’t have made a nitwit of myself for asking such a question. But if recent memory serves me well, I couldn’t recall a local team competing in this race, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember one that contained so much firepower. So, for their tremendous efforts, special congrats and shout outs go out to Pennridge High School’s incredibly young and exceptionally gifted 4 x 100 meter relay team of Ariana Przybylowski, Taylor Chapman, Natalia Pinkney and Casey O’Brien.  Pennridge made a fine showing of themselves against some very, very swift relay teams.

 

 

 

Below the Central Bucks Girls 4 x 400 Relay team celebrate their big win on Saturday after anchor Jamila Branch ran down Pennsbury's tough Ky Richardson coming down the homestretch. You will notice in the photograph directly below, Central Bucks West's Jamila Branch is the only sprinter that is in motion with both feet off the ground. Go get em kid!

 

Photography by Russ Harris

Central Bucks West's Kelsey Horst,  Jamila Branch, Courtney Taylor, and Lizanne Furst

 

Pennridge High's anchor relay member Joey Logue, walks dejectedly from the track after his Rams finished in iith place during their   4 x 800 High School Championship of the Americas Relay.

 

A special thank you goes out to the Penn Relays Director, Mr. Dave Johnson and Charles Dorman the Associate Director of Athletics and their entire staff for their display of such great hospitality. 

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ybSportsonline Newsteam

 

Philadelphia, PA.

 

TODAY’S TOPIC IS ABOUT TRACK EDUCATION, AND BETTING

 

 

 

It’s about feeling like you’re in your element, and harnessing that feeling until it can be unleashed at the right time. Making a respectable showing when everyone else around you is wondering how the h_ _ k did you even get here in the first place, is when you know you’ve got a special thing going on. Trust me when I say that nothing compares to excitement on the track like the kind you will enjoy in Philadelphia during the third week in April of each year, insides the confines of venerable Franklin Field. Hedge your bets!

 

There were three major surprises on the track on Friday afternoon, but judging from the reaction of all three of the competing teams, one could hardly tell that they were surprised with the outcome, in fact two of the teams felt a strong degree of disappointment in how they finished their races.

 

Believing is such a powerful source to pull from. For eample, are you someone who reads up on how to be successful and then practices what you've learned, or are you in the class of those who thinks they believe because they've covered the material but only goes through the motions, because going through the motions is what you do?

  

Please check back later this evening for the finish of this story, it will be worth the wait.

We will also be posting a complete rundown on how the Bucks County and surrounding local teams fared.

Photography by Russ Harris for ybSportsonline

Showing no fear whatsoever of their surroundings, are the Pennridge Four.

 

 

North Penn's leadoff runner, started out at the front of the pack and stayed there the duration.

 

 

A pleasant surprise.the Princeton Tiger foursome were winners of the college medley relay championships.

 

215 534 8771                                                           PA License # 0391220110852

 

ybSportsonline Newsteam,

 

Philadelphia, Pa

“You and me girl… go a long way back, (chorus) yessss…We go a long way back.” “Now I know, that you know, that I know, that you know, it wasn’t easy girl, not at all… but I hung on in there with you, and you know what, through it all we made it, and together, we made each other better.” This song was one of the most popular hits played throughout most souful communities in America during the late seventies when the R & B group Bloodstone penned it. Out of nowhere it shot upwards to number one on the soul charts and with good reason. The song is a testimony about a friendship between two people who were if not for the other’s determination to make it succeed, would have ended up broken and unfulfilled as do so many relationships often go. The years 2011 and 2012 will undoubtedly be two special years that two good friends, Meaghan McGovern and Tori Gerlach will remember forever for their journey together has been a sweet testimony of what can happen for you, if you simply work hard and you believe.

Two excellent students of the running game, and two hard working individuals attending separate public schools barely ten miles apart in Bucks County Pennsylvania, forged a bond, and a promising relationship using the one thing that most young and inexperienced high school girls often overlook… a determination to make the other better. That same determination led to one more memorable night of racing between Gerlach and McGovern, but this time it would be contested under the lights at venerable Franklin Field and the host site of the world famous Penn Relays. So many great memories have been made at the horse shoe. Even I can count my blessings as one of the fortunate ones as I can remember watching an Eagles football game here as a little boy, no older than five years of age, on an ice covered field, and wrapped in a huge quilt blanket. Back then the Longines clock on the wall at the opposite end of the shoe was the only form of time keeping. Yes, even I go a long way back. On October 29, 2011 the Lehigh valley was hit by a freak snow storm that left many in the area without power and literally covered Lehigh University’s “White”  Cross Country Course with up to eight inches of snow.

But just one day earlier the District One committee held their annual Cross Country AAA and AA Championships on the same course but these races were competed under blue skies and a lot of sun supported by temperatures that were hovering around the seventy degree mark. It was a beautiful day to hold a cross country meet and a perfect day for Pennridge High senior Tori Gerlach to take top honors, and to do so in impressive style. Gerlach crossed the finish line at approximately 10:59am, and if she had turned her head just slightly to her left and peered over her left shoulder, she would have seen her good friend and rival, Miss McGovern just a few paces away and bearing down on her.   Last evening, Miss Gerlach missed out on another opportunity to look in her rear view mirror, and take a peek at her close friend because she was busy stalking the leader of their 3000 meter race that featured special invites only. These special collection of runners were chosen specifically for their past accomplishments in their field by the Penn Relays House of Regions. Gerlach never left the front runner of the race distance their geography by more than ten yards, and at times seemed poised to suck up enough adrenalin to step forward and tap the leader of the race on the back of her shoulder and say, hey what’s up., but unfortunately, she ran out real estate and time.  Gerlach finished the race in second place followed by Meaghan McGovern, the young North Penn High trendsetter who took fourth.

 

 

Several other Suburban teams competed in their relays and performed quite well. To view those results, please check back later today for a full posting of those races.

 

Photography; Russ Harris ybSportsonline

 

Pennridge High's sensational distance runner Tori Gerlach sits confidently in second place during the 3000 meter race at Franklin Field's Penn Relays last evening.