PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, April 23-25 — A Collegiate Record from North Carolina’s distance medley squad and a sprint relay sweep by Texas A&M stole the show among the women’s events at the 130th Penn Relays.
In Friday’s DMR, Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker broke away on the final lap of the 1200, splitting a swift 3:12.81, while UNC’s Sydney Masciarelli (3:16.35) was in 3rd. Alyssa Jones (52.53) extended the Cardinal lead on the 400 leg, as Carolina’s Delea Martin (53.91) handed off to Makayla Paige in 4th. Paige, the 2025 NCAA Indoor champion (and outdoor runner-up), blasted her 800 leg in 2:00.42 to close the gap on Stanford’s Amelia Everett (2:04.91). Tar Heels anchor Vera Sjöberg shadowed Mena Scatchard until the final stretch, edging ahead after a 4:26.14 split, just enough to get by Scatchard (4:26.65). North Carolina’s time of 10:36.82 broke both the meet and Collegiate Record of 10:37.55 set by Harvard in 2024.
“I think in a relay especially it’s easy to get too excited because you want to do well for your team. So I was just telling myself to stay calm, that it doesn’t matter until the last 50 meters, so just relax,” said Sjöberg, who finished 6th in the NCAA Indoor 3000 and 7th at World Indoors for Sweden in the same event. “We always practice kicking the last 50 meters, really putting our foot into the ground, so that’s what I wanted to do.”
Stanford (10:36.90) was also under the old record. Villanova (10:48.84) was 3rd, narrowly missing its own school record (10:48.38 from 1988) which had stood as the Collegiate Record for 36 years before the current revolution started rewriting the all-time lists.
Texas A&M’s wins were more dominant than dramatic. On Friday the Aggies took the 4 x 200 in 1:31.25, more than a second ahead of TCU (1:32.38). Then on a much cooler Saturday afternoon with rain and chilly temperatures (below 50F/10C), the 4 x 100 unit (43.88) finished ahead of Clemson (44.05) and the 4 x 400 squad (3:32.31) again had more than a second margin over TCU (3:33.81).
Anya Jackson, Jasmine Montgomery, Aysha Shaheed and Camryn Dickson ran the two shorter races, while Montgomery and Dickson were joined by Lacarthea Cooper and Jahnile Registre on the 4×4. “We want to come and dominate, we don’t just want to show up. It’s great to walk away with three wheels,” said Dickson, referring to Penn’s famed championship plaques.
Hayley Kitching anchored Penn State to a pair of wins, coming from behind in Friday’s sprint medley (3:42.35) with a 2:01.77 split to catch Michigan’s Emmry Ross and Clemson’s Judy Kosgei. In the next day’s 4 x 800, the Aussie cruised to a 2:01.96 while holding off Stanford’s Whittaker (2:00.77). The Nittany Lions clocked 8:18.43 (No. 6 school all-time) to the Cardinal’s 8:20.60. North Carolina (8:22.09) was 3rd.
NC State’s Angelina Napoleon logged her fair share of solo laps around the Franklin Field oval, first taking Thursday’s steeplechase in a wire-to-wire 9:37.72, winning by more than 18 seconds. Two days later in the 4 x 1500, she ran the third leg and was handed a 50-meter lead, which she maintained before passing the baton to Sadie Engelhardt, who wrapped up the victory in 16:59.86 (No. 4 on the all-time collegiate list).
“It’s like riding a bike once you get used to it, but you definitely gotta get used to it. And I think that’s what this meet, for me, was for,” Napoleon said after running her first steeple since finishing 9th at September’s World Championships in Tokyo. “I take every race that I’m in pretty seriously, whether it’s a time trial or an NCAA championship. Every race matters towards the end result and this race is included.”
The top individual performer was Bucknell javelin star Evie Bliss (last year’s U.S. champion), who broke the meet record twice, first with an opening-round 188-0 (57.31) and followed by a 194-8 (59.35) effort in the final frame. Penn’s Jessica Oji scored a title for the home team in the shot put with a 59-6¾ (18.15) throw that won by more than 6 feet. Liberty’s Allie Zealand took the 5000 in 15:26.38, breaking a meet record (PattiSue Plumer’s 15:29.0) that dated to 1984.
On the pro side of things, the most notable performance came from Olympic champion Thea LaFond of Dominica, who outclassed the triple jump field with a barely wind-aided (2.1) mark of 47-2½ (14.39).
PENN WOMEN’S RESULTS
400: 1. Rosey Effiong (unat) 51.74; 2, Bailey Lear (Nike) 51.94.
600: 1. Victoria Bossong (NBal) 1:26.25.
800: 1. McKenna Keegan (unat) 2:01.41.
St: 1. Angelina Napoleon (NCSt) 9:37.72; 2. Sarah Trainor (Ct) 9:56.25; 3. Madison Seiler (KennSt) 9:56.87.
100H(-0.5): 1. Jaiya Covington (TxAM) 13.09.
400H: 1. Sanaa Hebron (Miami) 55.30; 2. Cenaiya Billups (How) 56.87.
4 x 100: 1. Texas A&M 43.88; 2. Clemson 44.05.
Heats: I–1. Texas A&M 43.69. III–1. Howard 43.97. IV–1. Clemson 43.76.
4 x 200: II–1. Howard 1:32.81; 2. Clemson 1:32.94. III–1. Texas A&M 1:31.25; 2. TCU 1:32.38.
4 x 400: 1. Texas A&M 3:32.31; 2. Ohio State 3:33.81.
Heats: I–1. Texas A&M 3:28.08. III–1. Miami 3:30.06; 2. Michigan 3:31.35.
4 x 800: 1. Penn State 8:18.43 (7 C) (Johnson 2:08.58, Buchanan 2:05.48, Ritchie 2:02.41, Kitching’ 2:01.96);
2. Stanford 8:20.60 (#10 school) (Everett 2:08.69, Scatchard’ 2:05.29, Studderdt 2:05.85, Whittaker 2:00.77);
3. North Carolina 8:22.09 (Paige 2:02.24); 4. Washington 8:26.70.
4 x 1500: 1. NC State 16:59.86 (7 W; 4 C) (Putnam 4:15.8, Gapes’ 4:13.3, Napoleon 4:17.4, Engelhardt 4:13.4);
2. Virginia 17:18.80 (DeSousa 4:19.9, Bushee 4:17.3, David 4:16.9, Kermes 4:24.7); 3. Villanova 17:19.34 (Shay 4:16.1, Vanasse 4:33.8, O’Connor 4:18.7, Walsh 4:10.7); 4. Oregon 17:25.53 (Cherubet’ 4:15.9, Ince 4:27.5, Frias 4:27.0, Ayyıldız’ 4:15.1).
SpMed: 1. Penn State 3:42.35 (#10 school) (White, North, Leclair’, Kitching’ 2:01.77);
2. Michigan 3:44.29; 3. Clemson 3:45.20.
DisMed: 1. North Carolina 10:36.82 CR (old CR 10:37.55 Harvard ’24) (3 W) (Sydney Masciarelli 3:16.35, Delea Martins 53.91, Makayla Paige 2:00.42, Vera Sjöberg’ 4:26.14);
2. Stanford 10:36.90 (4 W; 2 C) (Whittaker 3:12.81, Jones 52.53, Everett 2:04.91, Scatchard’ 4:26.65);
3. Villanova 10:48.84 (O’Connor 4:33.38); 4. Clemson 10:48.86 (Kosgei’ 4:31.30); 5. Washington 10:49.27 (Foerster 4:33.34).
Field Events
HJ: 1. Charity Hufnagel (unat) 6-½ (1.84); 2. Sanaa Barnes (unat) 6-½.
LJ: 1. Celine Brown’ (Rut-Jam) 20-10 (6.35).
TJ: 1. Thea LaFond’ (Dma) 47-2½w (14.39) (46-1½/14.06); 2. Davisleidis Velazco’ (Cub) 45-4½ (13.83); 3. Kayla Woods (GSTC) 45-¼ (13.72).
SP: 1. Jessica Oji’ (Penn-Ngr) 59-6¾ (18.15).
DT: 1. Inés López’ (AzSt-Spa) 178-7 (54.44); 2. Janae Profit (Va) 175-9 (53.56).
HT: 1. Charlotte Sandkulla’ (Va-Fin) 220-3 (67.13).
JT: 1. Evie Bliss (Buck) 194-8 (59.35).
