dwacox
04-26-2005, 11:18 AM
So much for a quiet competition.
There were still seven days before Thursday's official start of the 111th Penn Relays, but two high school 4x400-meter relay teams on opposite sides of the Ben Franklin Bridge were throwing verbal jabs last week.
The last Public School boys' team to win the Championship of America 4x400-meter relay was West Philadelphia, back in 1983.
Simon Gratz is out to change that.
"It won't be disappointing [if we fail] because we accomplished so much in the past," said James Farrall, one of the Gratz speedsters. "I'm just glad that we participated. But I doubt that we lose."
Hear that, Camden?
"It's our year. Point blank," said Carl Smith, one of the Camden foursome. "I mean, Simon Gratz has a good team. They've got a young team, and I have nothing but respect for them. . . . But it's our year. And that's all I got to say."
Actually, that wasn't all. The senior added that Camden hadn't had the opportunity to race Gratz this season.
"If we would have had the chance, it never would have been close," Smith said. "You can put that on the record. It would not have been close!"
Stay tuned. That race is scheduled for Saturday at 5:05 p.m.
While time will tell if Smith can back up his words, the senior has reason to be confident. Unlike Gratz or any other area team, Camden has made five Championship of America appearances in the last seven years.
The Panthers won the race in 2001 and finished third last season. Camden was also the 2004 Championship of America runner-up in the 4x100.
This year's 4x400 team features Smith and Kevin Payton, both of whom are capable of running 46-second splits.
Smith ran a 47.3 third leg, and Payton posted a 47.1 time as the anchor as Camden was third in 3 minutes, 13.58 seconds at last season's Adidas national meet.
The Panthers finished second in 3:23.02 at the Nike Indoor Nationals in March without Payton, who also plays basketball. But Camden coach Martin Booker said his quartet of Devon Burroughs, Sherman Goree, Smith and Payton can run a 3:12 at the Penn Relays.
However, Khaliff Featherstone, Gratz's standout freshman who has run a 47.5 anchor split, said the Bulldogs can run faster than that.
"I want to go 3:10," he said.
If Gratz does run that fast, it will be the first high school team to run a sub-3:11 at the Penn Relays since Northwestern (Md.) ran a 3:10.35 to win the Championship of America in 1999.
The Bulldogs' quartet of Featherstone, Farrall and twin brothers Kevin and Kenneth Talley ran a 3:20.4 in their first outdoor race. But Gratz had the nation's fifth-fastest indoor time, 3:19.49.
Courtesy of phila inquierer
There were still seven days before Thursday's official start of the 111th Penn Relays, but two high school 4x400-meter relay teams on opposite sides of the Ben Franklin Bridge were throwing verbal jabs last week.
The last Public School boys' team to win the Championship of America 4x400-meter relay was West Philadelphia, back in 1983.
Simon Gratz is out to change that.
"It won't be disappointing [if we fail] because we accomplished so much in the past," said James Farrall, one of the Gratz speedsters. "I'm just glad that we participated. But I doubt that we lose."
Hear that, Camden?
"It's our year. Point blank," said Carl Smith, one of the Camden foursome. "I mean, Simon Gratz has a good team. They've got a young team, and I have nothing but respect for them. . . . But it's our year. And that's all I got to say."
Actually, that wasn't all. The senior added that Camden hadn't had the opportunity to race Gratz this season.
"If we would have had the chance, it never would have been close," Smith said. "You can put that on the record. It would not have been close!"
Stay tuned. That race is scheduled for Saturday at 5:05 p.m.
While time will tell if Smith can back up his words, the senior has reason to be confident. Unlike Gratz or any other area team, Camden has made five Championship of America appearances in the last seven years.
The Panthers won the race in 2001 and finished third last season. Camden was also the 2004 Championship of America runner-up in the 4x100.
This year's 4x400 team features Smith and Kevin Payton, both of whom are capable of running 46-second splits.
Smith ran a 47.3 third leg, and Payton posted a 47.1 time as the anchor as Camden was third in 3 minutes, 13.58 seconds at last season's Adidas national meet.
The Panthers finished second in 3:23.02 at the Nike Indoor Nationals in March without Payton, who also plays basketball. But Camden coach Martin Booker said his quartet of Devon Burroughs, Sherman Goree, Smith and Payton can run a 3:12 at the Penn Relays.
However, Khaliff Featherstone, Gratz's standout freshman who has run a 47.5 anchor split, said the Bulldogs can run faster than that.
"I want to go 3:10," he said.
If Gratz does run that fast, it will be the first high school team to run a sub-3:11 at the Penn Relays since Northwestern (Md.) ran a 3:10.35 to win the Championship of America in 1999.
The Bulldogs' quartet of Featherstone, Farrall and twin brothers Kevin and Kenneth Talley ran a 3:20.4 in their first outdoor race. But Gratz had the nation's fifth-fastest indoor time, 3:19.49.
Courtesy of phila inquierer