EA's varsity and Middle School track and field teams competed in the Penn Relays from April 25-27. The prestigious meet brings together the top student-athletes from around the world.
Two Middle School relays kicked things off on Thursday, April 25, with the boys' 4x100m (Kyle Lindsay '28, Lukman Murad '28, Brock Newcomb '29, and Michael Stewart '29) running to 4th place (50.44) in the Philadelphia Area Private and Charter Schools division.
The Middle School girls 4x100m (Avery Dodson '29, Eve Hyman '29, Laya Joyce '30, Amelia Rutherford '30) came in 7th (57.06) in the same division.
The girls' varsity 4x100m relay (Avery Elliott '24, Maya Bright '25, Stevie Combs '25, Saige Forbes '24) turned in the fastest time among Delaware County schools (48.16) in the qualifier on Thursday. "I think it means that we’re the best in the school in the 4x1,” Maya shared with the Delco Daily Times. “It was so fun out there. … I’m just so glad that we did so well.”
In the high school Northeastern Final the girls placed 3rd and set another record (47.50). Saige landed in 6th in the Long Jump (18'4.5"). Avery placed 11th (17'5½").
"This was another historic experience for our girls' program. Not only were Saige and Avery the first from our school to be in a Penn Relays field event, but also this 4x100m team actually broke the school record three times in nine days," beamed Coach John Goens, Hon. "At the end of it all, Stevie, Maya, Avery, and Saige took home a bronze medal and solidified their status as one of the best in the state. I could not be more proud of them!"
For the boys' team, "the big highlight was on Saturday, with our 4x400m team of Jahmir Brown '26, Dawson French '24, Eli Engelman '25, and Abaas Hunter '26," said Boys' Varsity Coach Zach Richards, Hon. "They ran in the Inter-Ac 4x400m relay and won with a season-best time of 3:22.41."
Abaas Hunter anchored the relay and ran a personal best split time of 47.31 seconds. The win is the 5th straight victory for EA's 4x400m relay. The squad finished 9th in the national finals with a time of 3:29.36.
The 4x800m relay (Dawson French, Curtis Conner '26, Ethan Zhou '25, and Eli Engelman) ran on Friday morning in a competitive qualifying field and clocked a season-best time of 8:04.03.
YaYa Johnson '25 competed in the Triple Jump, qualified for finals, and finished 7th overall.
AJ Koukou '24 competed in the Shot Put on Friday. He threw 55'2" and just missed the finals in a very competitive field.
"To take part in this event is truly an honor, but to have the success that these boys had in front of a huge crowd is a memory they will never forget," said Coach Richards. "This weekend will, hopefully, serve as inspiration for the team as we move forward into the championship stretch of our season."