As we say goodbye to the 115th Penn Relays, here’s what some of our friends in the media have to say about the meet:

• The Associated Press has one report on the USA vs The World races and another focusing on Tennessee’s record-setting women’s 4×800.

• Also covering the USA vs The World: Universal Sports and the IAAF.

• The Jamaica Observer looks at the disappointing injury of Asafa Powell in the USA vs the World men’s 4×100. National sprint coach Donald Quarrie isn’t concerned about the U.S.’s 37.90 victory: “We ran 37.10 last year and we’ll run 36 seconds in August” at the world championships.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer focuses on Tennessee freshman Chanelle Price — from Easton, PA — who ran on all three of the Lady Vols’ winning relays this weekend. Price also gets attention from the Allentown Morning Call.

• The Inquirer also has a nice story about Jamaican sprint prodigy Nickel Ashmeade of St. Jago H.S. — silver medalist in the 200 at last year’s IAAF World Junior Championships — who bounced back from a baton drop in the 4×100 heats to anchor the winning high school boys 4×400 relay.

• The Newark Star-Ledger talks to shot putter Nick Vena, who was named the Relays’ high school boys outstanding performer for individual events for the second year in a row.

• There’s another Star-Ledger story on what it calls “a race for the ages,” the amazing battle in the boys 4×800 between Albemarle (VA) and Morris Hills (NJ). Both teams smashed the national record in the event on Saturday, with Albemarle winning in 7:30.67.

Previously: Media links for Friday and Saturday.

With the conclusion of our two final events, the ECAC and IC4A college 4×400 heats, we have reached the end of our 115th Penn Relay Carnival.  We’ve had great weather, great spectators, and great international internet viewers like yourself.  On behalf of Carnival Director Dave Johnson, we appreciate you visiting our meet blog, and we will see you next year in 2010.

The Penn Relays, America’s oldest track meet since 1895.  Harvard won the first 4×400 in 3:33, and Florida State won the 115th in 3:01.

We’ll see you soon enough.

(for those of you in the Mid-Atlantic area, don’t forget the Heps/Ivy conference championships are in two weeks right here at Franklin Field)

Quick all-in-one-place recap:

Athletes of the Meet

College Men’s Relays
Matthew Gibney anchored Villanova to its 23rd distance medley relay championship, but its first since 2001, running down and passing Arkansas’ Dorian Ulrey. His come-from-behind 1600-meter split was 3:58.4 as the Wildcats held off the Razorbacks by two seconds.

College Men’s Individual Events
Jeremy Hicks of LSU posted the first eight-meter long jump at the Penn Relays in five years, soaring 26-3 to win that event. That distance is the seventh-best in Penn Relays’ history.

College Women’s Relays
Sarah Bowman played an enormous role in Tennessee becoming just the third school in Relays’ history to sweep the women’s distance relays. Bowman ran on all three victorious relays for the Lady Vols, anchoring the distance medley and the 4×1500, and running the third leg on the 4×800. Her 1500 split of 4:10.2 is the second fastest ever at the Relays and UT set Penn Relays and collegiate records in both the 4×800 and 4×1500.

College Women’s Individual Events
Rachel Laurent of LSU went higher than any woman in Franklin Field history as she won the pole vault championship with a clearance of 13-10 1/2. That was 11 inches better than her nearest competitor.

High School Boys’ Relays
Anthony Kestelac, the anchor of Albemarle’s (Va.) national record setting boys 4×800, ran the fourth fastest split in Relays’ history (1:49.33), giving his team an incredible time of 7:30.67. The national record in the 4×800 had been set at the Relays before, but it was back in 1921 when Cedar Rapids of Iowa ran 8:25.4, almost a minute slower than Albemarle.

High School Boys’ Individual Events
Sophomore Nick Vena of Morristown (N.J.) won the shot put (for the second year in a row) with a throw of 72-2 1/2 inches (22.01 meters), breaking the Relays record by nearly five feet and becoming the first sophomore to ever break the 70-foot barrier.

High School Girls’ Relays
Ristananna Tracey was a double anchor champion for Edwin Allen of Clarendon, Jamaica. She ran a 54.1 to bring home the 4×400 and 2:07.9 to deliver the 4×800. The 4×8 time of 8:44.06 was the fourth-fastest ever at the Relays.

High School Boys’ Individual Events
It was a sister act as Edwin Allen’s Nikita Tracey won the intermediate hurdles in 57.44, the second fastest ever run at Penn. She fought off the cold and wind to run a faster time than the collegiate champion. Her sister Ristananna was the award winner for relay events.

Attendance Report
Thursday — 24,315 (fourth all-time)
Friday — 39,501 (third all-time)
Saturday — 47,904 (sixth all-time)
Three-Day — 111,720 (fifth all-time)

The 2009 Penn Relays are in the books. We’ll see you next year for the 116th edition: April 22, 23, 24, 2010!

Olympic 400H champ Angelo Taylor gets some last minute instructions before helping USA Red win

After Wallace Spearman of the USA Blue team playfully goads the partisan Jamaican crowd, we are now underway.

Kerron Clement hands off first for USA Red, which leads the whole way. Christopher Brown of the Bahamas challenged late, but Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt had it under control with a final burst, locking up a 2:59.78 to 3:00.29 win for USA Red. USA Blue was close behind in 3:00.58. Results.

Our college athlete of the meet for relays is Matthew Gibney of Villanova with his excellent come-from-behind victory in the DMR, splitting 3:58.4.

After an impressive third leg from Allyson Felix (49.64 — fastest of the day), USA Red’s Sanya Richards had a cakewalk to wrap up an eighth straight win for an American team in this series. The time: 3:23.08.

Novlene Williams-Mills gave it a great effort on Jamaica’s third leg, but ultimately could not match the impossibly smooth strides of Felix. The Jamaicans took second in 3:24.57.

Results.

Another wire-to-wire victory. Florida State blasts out early and holds off a late charge from St. Augustine’s for a 3:01.54 to 3:02.10. Those are the 3rd and =6th best times in Penn history. Results.

Not surprisingly, our high school boys athlete of the meet for relays is Anthony Kestelac, the anchor of the national record setting boys 4×800.  Kestelac ran a 1:49.3, which is 4th fastest all time.

For those trivia buffs out there, the national record in the 4×800 has been set at the Penn Relays before . . . . . but in 1921.  88 years ago, Cedar Rapids (IA) set the record with an 8:25.4, almost 50 seconds slower.

Event #256, the College Women’s Championship.  We have had a number of fast times today, and the college women should not disappoint (although there is a breeze here at Franklin Field now).

The leading qualifier was UTech from Jamaica in 3:34, but Texas A&M and Florida State are right on their heels with 3:36 and 3:37.

At the first exchange, it is indeed UTech in the lead, but TCU takes the lead at the break.

UTech retakes the lead, with TCU and Texas A&M right behind.  A&M is attempting the sprints trifecta.

UTech has opened a big lead in the last exchange, which may be insurmountable.

and for the first time, the University of Technology from Jamaica has won the 4×400.  They are the first international school to win this event ever in relays history.  Their winning time was 3:30 . . . . full results here.

As an appetizer, we’ve got the Philadelphia Area race. Abington win in 3:18.54, with Chester second in 3:19.18. Results.

Next up is the Championship of America, featuring five teams from Jamaica and one each from Pennsylvania, Virginia and California.

St. Jago went wire-to-wire, holding off several challenges, to win in 3:12.55. Results.