April 23, 2010
Live Results | Friday's Live Blog
PHILADELPHIA - After a late stay at distance night, the 116th running of the Penn Relays Carnival is on its second day and it's a perfect weekend in Philadelphia for one of the world's most-renowned track meets. Historic Franklin Field is the setting and there was not a cloud in the sky today as the temperature climbed as high as 72 degrees with some of the country's best athletes competing in front of 38,940 fans.
Six-time All-American Andrew Bumbalough has been full of surprises since he arrived on the Hilltop as a freshman. A seasoned two-miler who in 2008 was the NCAA runner-up in the indoor 3,000-meter run, it was a welcomed surprise when six weeks prior to the 2008 NCAA Championships, Bumbalough ran a sub-four minute mile to join a short list of Hoyas to achieve that feat.
Though he had already ran a sub-four minute 1,600-meter split at the Penn Relays in 2008, Bumbalough did it again today. He split a 3:59.71, the fastest-recorded anchor split of the day. He even bested Oregon's Andrew Wheating who split a 3:59.84 and was the only other competitor to break four minutes. The murmurs along press row were all about Wheating and his seemingly effortless stride - but, today, it was Bumbalough who takes the prize for fastest split.
Dylan Sorensen led off the for the Hoyas in the Men's Distance Medley Relay Championship of America. The first leg is 1200 meters and he kept toward the front of the pack through the first 800. With the majority of the field kicking through the last 200 meters, Sorensen slipped from the front with Toby Ulm taking over the next 400 meters. Ulm was able to pull the Hoyas up to sixth place and extended the gap between the Hoyas and then-seventh-place Texas. Theon O'Connor was on deck for the third leg of 800 meter or two laps around. O'Connor teetered between second and fourth place but slipped to fourth through the final exchange.
Bumbalough ran a smart anchor leg. Staying tucked in around sixth place for the first 800 meters, he made calculated moves throughout the remaining 800 meters. On the back straightaway of his third lap, he moved up to fifth. He coasted around the turn and took over fourth place over the last straightaway. On bell lap, Oregon had all but won the race and it was a competition between the remainder of the field. Bumbalough made a solid effort on the home stretch to finish third with a time of 9:34.38, less than a second behind the second-place Villanova Wildcats.
"Our first three legs did a great job of getting me the stick close enough to the front pack that I would have a good shot of finishing in the top three," Bumbalough said. "I was especially impressed with the poise that freshman Dylan Sorrenson showed on the leadoff 1,200-meter leg. I got the stick and made up ground on the first few teams and then sat comfortably until it was time to move to the front of the chase pack. Coming onto the homestretch, I felt like my sprint speed was good, but not great. That sort of pop in my legs will come as the season progresses and I race more. Overall, I am fairly pleased with my second race of the season and our teams performance in the DMR."
The women's 4x100-meter relay squad competed in the Championship of America final with Sarah Wernik lining up in the blocks in lane two. Wernik came out of the blocks and seemed to have quite a stagger to make up. Tenille Stoudenmire took over the second stanza, keeping the Hoyas competitive. Nene Kamate ran the third leg, making up some ground for the Hoyas and after the final handoff, Amanda Kimbers kept the Hoyas close to the pack. The Hoyas finished eighth with a time of 45.03.
The Hoyas qualify for tomorrow's IC4A section of the men's 4x100-meter relay finals as they ran a 41.05 in the heats to finish 14th overall. Sean Suber led off for the Hoyas with Kenny Mitchell taking over the second leg making up a decent gap on the back straightaway. Christian Tobias took over after the second exchange and held GU's position while Kadeem Hunter anchored the relay with the Hoyas taking third in their heat, 14th overall.
The Hoyas return tomorrow for the final day of the Penn Relays Carnival. Be sure to check GUHoyas.com for a live blog and a full recap of the day's events.
