PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, April 23-25 — Finish line theatrics highlighted the three longest men’s baton events at the 130th Penn Relays, with Oregon and Villanova trading blows in the distance medley and 4 x mile and Michigan sacrificing a Collegiate Record in the 4 x 800 while taunting rival Penn State.
Over the course of two days at Franklin Field, Villanova’s Marco Langon went on an emotional journey. The flamboyant senior has taken to giving charged interviews that are nearly as dramatic as his scrappy racing tactics and he continued that trend at Penn, rebounding from an agony-of-defeat in the DMR to a thrilling victory in the 4 x mile.
In Friday’s distance medley, James Harding’s 800 carry (1:45.19) gave Oregon a lead at the start of the anchor leg, and a fast time seemed possible. (Arkansas’s meet record of 9:20.10 — the fastest collegiate outdoor clocking — has stood since 1989.). But Simeon Birnbaum, fresh off a Collegiate Record in the 1500, was only too happy to let the pace lag and rely on his kick. The pedestrian pace allowed several trailing teams to catch up and at the bell 9 squads were in contention. Around the final curve Birnbaum and Langon broke away from the pack. Langon made a strong challenge down the stretch, but Birnbaum (whose final lap was unofficially right around 50 seconds) was able to hold on for the win, finishing in 9:32.08 to Nova’s 9:32.18 as Langon crashed to the track.
“I was just excited to go out there and run and compete for a wheel,” said Birnbaum, referring to the meet’s iconic round championship plaques. As for his decision to let the race turn tactical, he said, “I just go off of instinct. I go with whatever I think is smartest in the moment.”
Langon — who helped the Wildcats win the 4 x mile at Penn back in ’24 — was distraught. “This is one of the worst things you could do,” he said. “But I just need to forget about it and move on to tomorrow.”
In Saturday’s 4 x mile, the pace was conservative in the early going, but Northern Arizona’s Colin Sahlman and Virginia’s Nathan Mountain had separated from the pack as the anchor leg began. Birnbaum and Langon quickly caught up, and eventually Wisconsin’s Matan Ivri also closed the gap with 2 laps to go to make it a 5-man race. Langon took the lead on the penultimate lap, then jostled Ivri at the bell to successfully hold his spot on the rail.
Birnbaum, 10 meters down entering the backstretch, closed hard but could not corral Langon, who raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the line in 16:18.47 (off a 3:55.94 split), a step ahead of Birnbaum (16:18.52). Northern Arizona (16:19.24), Virginia (16:19.57) and Wisconsin (16:19.64) followed.
“No matter how fast I went [yesterday] it wasn’t enough from the back, so I made sure today that I went to the front [earlier],” Langon said in his typically expletive-filled post-race comments. “I went to the front with 600 meters to go and I knew that I was gonna win and I wasn’t going to look back. This was the bloodiest wheel of them all.”
As a postscript to the fireworks, Birnbaum later commented on Instagram about the race, “See ya in my house n june,” a reference to the NCAA championships, which will once again be held at Hayward Field.
The 4 x 800 provided another operatic homestretch duel, with Michigan’s Trent McFarland outsprinting Penn State’s Allon Clay for the win. McFarland spread his arms in celebration with 40 meters to go, then turned back and pointed at Clay just before dipping at the line. McFarland’s theatrics likely cost the Wolverines the Collegiate Record, with the Wolverines’ 7:09.24 now No. 2 all-time behind Arizona State’s 7:08.96 from ’84. Michigan’s splits: John O’Reilly (1:50.11), Brendan Herger (1:46.79), Camden Law (1:46.23) and McFarland (1:46.11).
Penn State (7:10.00) had to settle for a school record (the previous mark, 7:11.17, had been a Penn Relays record since 1985) while Texas A&M (7:11.64) became the No. 4 school.
“I live off that kind of rivalry and that kind of competition, so it was fun to be there and be able to do that and get the win,” McFarland said of his motivation to taunt the Big 10 rivals, who have taken to calling themselves “800 U” thanks to their current depth in the event (including three finalists at the NCAA Indoor meet in March).
Ohio State was the only school to score multiple baton titles, persevering through cold and rainy conditions on Saturday to take the 4 x 100 in 39.56 and the 4 x 400 in 3:05.85. In the latter, the Buckeyes’ Edidiong Udo (45.39) held off Texas A&M’s Kimar Farquharson (45.06) by 0.01.
Thanks to a 1:45.58 carry from Tinoda Matsatsa on the anchor, Georgetown won the sprint medley in 3:13.96. Clemson took the 4 x 200 in 1:21.52, followed by South Florida (1:21.89) and Houston (1:21.96), with all three teams running in separate sections.
In individual events, Saturday’s pole vault was moved indoors due to the rain, and brothers Brian and Kevin O’Sullivan of Rutgers both cleared 18-3¼ (5.57), Brian getting the win on fewer misses.
On the pro side, Jamaicans Jordan Scott and Romaine Beckford put up strong marks on the infield. Scott took the triple jump at 56-6½ (17.23) while Beckford cleared 7-5 (2.26) to win the high jump.
PENN MEN’S RESULTS
100(-1.4): 1. Gary Card’ (Jam) 10.34.
800: 1. Darius Smallwood (unat) 1:46.06.
St: 1. Brian Boler (Prin) 8:40.29.
110H(-1.3): 1. Ja’Qualon Scott (TxAM) 13.87 (13.56h).
400H: 1. Jayden Douglas (TCU) 49.94.
4 x 100: 1. Ohio State 39.56.
4 x 200: I–1. Clemson 1:21.52. II–1. South Florida 1:21.89. III–1. Houston 1:21.96.
4 x 400: 1. Ohio State 3:05.85; 2. Texas A&M 3:05.86.
4 x 800: I–1. Michigan 7:09.24 (CL) (2 C) (O’Reilly’ 1:50.11, Herger 1:46.79, Law 1:46.23, McFarland 1:46.11);
2. Penn State 7:10.00 (3 C) (Ishii’ 1:49.23, Regnier 1:47.79, Schultz 1:45.94, Clay 1:47.04);
3. Texas A&M 7:11.64 (5 C) (Dodoo’ 1:49.72, Narumbe’ 1:45.61, Ashby 1:49.41, Sharman-Newell’ 1:46.90);
4. Virginia 7:14.71; 5. Georgetown 7:17.26.
4 x Mile: 1. Villanova 16:18.47 (Donoghue 4:13.98, Thomas 4:11.61, Habler 3:56.94, Langon 3:55.94); 2. Oregon 16:18.52 (Birnbaum 3:56.23); 3. Northern Arizona 16:19.24 (Sahlman 3:59.06); 4. Virginia 16:19.57 (Martin 3:54.94 [3]); 5. Wisconsin 16:19.64 (Ivri 3:56.00).
SpMed: 1. Georgetown 3:13.96 (Guillaume, Givan, Marchan, Matsatsa 1:45.58); 2. Texas A&M 3:14.38 (Narumbe 1:46.89); 3. Penn 3:22.70; 4. Michigan 3:22.98.
DisMed: 1. Oregon 9:32.08 (Palfrey’ 2:50.61, Omer 45.58, Harding’ 1:45.18, Birnbaum 4:10.71);
2. Villanova 9:32.18 (Watcke 1:44.24); 3. Virginia 9:33.13 (Rodman 1:45.28);… 5. Michigan 9:33.82 (Brown 1:43.83); 6. Washington 9:34.06 (Barco 1:45.29).
Field Events
HJ: 1. Romaine Beckford’ (Jam) 7-5 (2.26).
PV: 1. Brian O’Sullivan (Rut) 18-3¼ (5.57); 2. Kevin O’Sullivan (Rut) 18-3¼.
TJ: 1. Jordan Scott’ (Jam) 56-6½ (17.23).
DT: 1. Kai Chang’ (Jam) 194-5 (59.26).
HT: 1. Jeremiah Nubbe’ (Va-Can) 242-0 (73.76); 2. Benjamin Pable (NDm) 220-8 (67.27); 3. Collin Burkhart (PennSt) 220-3 (67.15).
