Track & Field Returns to Philly for Coveted Penn Relays
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 25, 2023) – South Carolina Track & Field is tying the laces up for one final regular season meet, the much-anticipated 2023 Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the Penn Relays can be found by clicking the following link. There will also be live video on FloTrack for a nominal fee. Fans can also follow along with updates on Twitter by following @GamecockTrack.
Meet Information
This week marks the 127th installment of the Penn Relays and the second season back following the COVID-19 pandemic. The most exciting track meet in America will begin on Thursday morning with high school events and will conclude on Saturday evening. With 36 states represented and nine total countries present, the Penn Relays makes up one of the greatest spectacles in track & field. The first college event will be the women’s hammer collegiate section on Thursday at noon, while the first track event will also be on Thursday as the women’s 400-meter hurdles championship gets underway at 5 p.m.
Coaches Corner
On what it means to compete at the Penn Relays:
“Very few people get to run in the second greatest meet in the world behind the Olympics. When you can return to the Penn Relays, it means your kids are getting exposure to the greatest carnival in the world. If you can’t compete in the Olympics, the Penn Relays is the second-best opportunity in our sport. You hear of people saying ‘I attended the Penn Relays’ that are 80 and 90 years old. The Penn Relays give the opportunity for that exposure of participating in the most coveted track meet that happens EVERY year. There are so many reasons you want to be involved in the Penn Relays. There is no other track event in America like it.”
Gamecocks Taking over Philly
South Carolina has a strong history of winning at the Penn Relays. The Gamecocks have captured a total of 71 Championship of America event wins at the Penn Relays, including winning 27 relays over the years.
Last season, Carolina captured four wins, including sweeping all three relay events on the women’s side. The 4×100-meter relay team of Jayla Jamison, Makenzie Dunmore, Angel Frank and Tierra Frasier ran 43.72 to capture the wagon wheel. Later, Jamison, Dunmore, Stephanie Davis and Frasier ran 1:33.36 in the 4×200-meter relay for the win.
The quartet of Davis, Dunmore, Frank and Jahnile Registre picked up the clean sweep after winning the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:26.53. The 2022 victory was the eighth 4x400m relay win in Gamecock history at Penn Relays, tying with the men’s 400m hurdles as the most event wins that Carolina holds at Penn Relays.
Rachel Glenn capped off the winners when she cleared 1.84m (6-0.5) for the individual win in the Women’s High Jump Championship of America.
Qualification Marks
With two schedule competitions left on the docket, the Gamecocks have 23 total qualification marks for the NCAA East Regional in May. The NCAA East Regional will take place in Jacksonville, Fla. this season.
The women have 12 qualifying marks, including a pair of Top-10 results. Sylvia Chelangat is the highest-ranked student-athlete, sitting fifth overall in the 800m with a time of 2:02.58. Jayla Jamison, who has qualified for two individual events, ranks ninth in the 200m (22.79). KD Young is currently also qualified for two events, the shot put (16.13m) where she is ranked 24th and the hammer throw (59.70m) where she sits 34th. Both relays are currently ranked 14th for the Gamecocks, needing to remain inside the Top 24 in the next two weeks.
The men boast 11 qualifying marks, led by none other than Anass Essayi who ranks first in the 1500m (3:36.89). Evan Miller holds two qualifying times, including the 400m (45.14) where he ranks second in the region. Dylan Targgart and Anthony Greenhow each boast Top-48 marks in a pair of events, with Targgart’s highest ranking coming in third in the shot put (19.89m) and Greenhow ranking as high as 26th in the 100m (10.25). The Gamecocks’ 4x100m relay team of Greenhow, Miller, Gatlin Lawson and DJ Black are inside the Top-24 cut line for relays, ranking 19th with a time of 39.99.
