Penn Relays: Bronxville sophomore Mary Cain breaks meet mile record

PHILADELPHIA – It's a pretty good bet that Mary Cain will be wearing the No. 1 bib in the girls championship mile at the 2013 Penn Relays.

The Bronxville (N.Y.) sophomore ran a meet record and national 10th grade record of 4:39.28 on the opening day of the 118th annual meet at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field on Thursday.

Cain, wearing the No. 2 bib, unleashed a 62.5-second final 400 meters to dominate a field that included two-time defending Penn Relays champion Angel Piccirillo (Homer Creek, Md.) and 2011 IAAF World Youth 800-meter champion Ajee Wilson (Neptune, N.J.).

Cain eclipsed the meet record of 4:41.22 set by Stephanie Morgan (Barnsdale, OH) in 2008 and the national sophomore record of 4:40.24. The opportunity to wear the No. 2 bib behind Piccirillo was a thrill in itself for Cain on Thursday.

"Going into it, I knew I was a contender. When I saw No. 2, I was really excited," Cain said. "I just knew I had to keep my head and run my race and no matter what I am going to run fast."

How fast was unexpected for Cain, who had a best of 4:46.91. Cain had ran 4:17.84 in the 1,500 meters - about 100 meters short of a mile - last season so she believed a sub 4:40 time was a possibility.

"Part of me really wasn't thinking about time. I was more thinking about leading," Cain said. "I knew Ajee and Angel and there were amazing athletes in this race. I just thought no matter what if I don't let them gap that it is going to be a fast race."

Piccirillo and Cain shared the lead for the first 2½ laps before Cain made a decisive surge with 660 yards to go and turned on the afterburners on the final lap. Piccirillo finished second in 4:47.49. Samantha George (Millbrook-Raleigh, N.C.) was third in 4:48.11 and Florida State signee Wilson was fourth in 4:52.89.

"The last 600 and I was like I got a kick to mess with," Cain said. "That last 400 I am going to kill it everything that I've got. I just kept moving the last 200."

Another meet record was set one race earlier in the girls distance medley relay (1,200, 400, 800, 1,600) by the Tatnall (Wilmington, Del.) team of Reagan Anderson (3:35.7), Lindsay Voltz (57.8), Julie Williams (2:12.5), Haley Pierce (4:42.9) to smash the mark of 11:34. 46 set by Fayetteville-Manlius (N.Y.) in 2011.

Tatnall's time in the distance medley relay was the third fastest on the all-time U.S. high school list behind Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) and Fayetteville-Manlius (N.Y.) marks of 11:22.23 and 11:25.13 run at the 2011  New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

Sophie Chase (Lake Braddock-Burke, Va.) won the 3,000 meters in 9:37.86 in the absence of 2011 champion Pierce who opted for the distance medley relay instead.

In the girls 400 hurdles finals, Alexis Franklin (Old Mill-Millersville, Md.) won in 59.05 to improve upon her runner-up finish in 2011 and lead three runners under 60 seconds with Kiah Seymour (Archbishop John Carroll, Washington D.C.) and Autumn Franklin (McDonogh School, Owings Mills, Md.), who placed second in 59.78 and third in 59.94, respectively.

In other finals, Christine Streisel (Tamaqua, Pa.) edged Maria Jimenez (Vineland, N.J.) to win the javelin, 154-11 to 154-6. Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) beatTheresa Picciallo (Immaculate Heart, Washington Township, N.J.) in the shot put, 47-5 to 47-0½. Larisa Debich (Hempfield Area-Greensburg, Pa.) won the pole vault at 12-5½.

In the Championship of America girls 4 x 100-meter relay final today, Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) ran 46.39 for the top qualifying time despite returning only one runner from its 2011 Penn Relays championship team.

The quartet of seniors Tori Myers and Traci Hicks, junior Diamond Thomas and sophomore Ariana Washington will attempt to become the first U.S. team to repeat as champion in the 118th annual meet.

Hicks is the only runner back from last year's team that but hasn't stopped the Jackrabbits from returning to Philadelphia with big plans.

"The way we look at it, it's a new beginning. We're here to win. There's no doubt about that," Poly coach Don Norford said. "I believe the girls will win it. Now, that they have run and all the nervousness and excitement is gone. They know how to handle it."

There certainly isn't any case of nerves for Washington, who also placed third in the long jump as the top American finisher at 18-10¾.

"We are going to win," Washington said. "That's how I see it. The speed is there. The handoffs are there. I don't see a reason why we wouldn't win. I have no doubts that we can do it. We want to make history. That's been our goal since last year."

Poly has won three Championship of America titles in the Penn Relays – the most by any U.S. school and tied for third on the all-time Penn list. Poly, which also won in 2003 and 1995, is the only American school to win the girls 4 x 100 relay at Penn since 1981.

The Jackrabbits, though, have never entered the final as the top seed until Thursday. The Championship of America finalists are determined by the top nine fastest times from more than 50 heats. Norford credited the breakthrough to experience from past trips to the Penn Relays.

"They know how to handle the pressure because that same pressure is put on them at practice," Norford said. "We give them specific instructions on what to do at Penn Relays. We learn every time we come on how to prepare the kids for it mentally and physically."

The Championship of America final will include six Jamaican teams, including Vere Technical which has won a record 15 Penn titles. Poly and Jamaican schools Edwin Allen (46.45) and St. Jago (46.79) were the only teams to run under 47 seconds in the trials run without starting blocks on a cloudy overcast afternoon.

Wakefield (Raleigh, N.C.) was the No. 2 American qualifier at 47.17. Poly defeated Wakefield in the Arcadia Invitational on April 7 after Wakefield failed to finish because of a dropped baton.

Poly's Washington is looking forward to the challenge today, particularly after missing practice last week and the Mt. San Antonio College Relays last Saturday to concentrate on academics.

"You saw what happened to Wakefield at Arcadia?" Washington said. "The Jamaican teams look a little old…like my mom kind of old. That's nothing. You run against Long beach Poly you are going to get the best."