Ranking the 30 greatest Delaware high school performances at Penn Relays

There is a historical marker outside the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field that notes the Penn Relays' esteemed past.

But the whole place - from the brick outer layer to the clock above the back turn - beams with history.

Entering its 129th running, which begins Thursday and ends Saturday, the Penn Relays have been an annual test of Delaware's greatest track and field athletes and have produced many of the state's best performances. As prelude to this year's edition, Delaware Online/The News Journal has compiled a list of 30 of the greatest Penn Relays performances by Delaware high school athletes.

Consideration was given to the team or athlete's place in the competition, their time or mark relative to Penn Relays and state history and the stature of their event — the Championship of America relay events are considered the meet's most prestigious.

Included on the list are Delaware's three Championship of America winners, 12 individual event champions and many of the state's fastest- and farthest-ever performances.

In recent years, individuals have followed elite fields to fast times. Many of them, including Wilmington Friends' Connor Nisbet (second place 3,000 in 2018), Tatnall's Stephen Garrett (eighth place 3,000 in 2014) and Sam Parsons (third place 3,000 in 2012) and Salesianum's Michael Keehan (fifth place 3,000 in 2018), just missed our list. Also of note is Tatnall's 2007 sixth-place finish in the girls 4x800 Championship of America and Glasgow's 2003 third-place finish in the 4x400 Philadelphia Area final. Regardless of time, winning the Northern Delaware sections of the 4x400 holds its own prestige.

Delaware's fastest: The 30 greatest high school distance runners in First State history

Delaware's fastest: The 30 greatest high school sprint and field event athletes

30. Brandon Stacy pole vault, 2014

📏 14-9 to win pole vault championship

Stacy, a Caravel Buccaneer, finished his high school career third all time in the pole vault.

29. Padua girls 4x800, 2018

⌚ 9:04.63 to place fourth in 4x800 Championship of America

The team of Judy McLaughlin (2:16.92), Lizzy Bader (2:15.99), Amber Owens (2:19.37) and Lydia Olivere (2:12.36) fell five seconds shy of the state record in Delaware's highest finish in the high school girls 4x800 Championship of America.

28. Kai Maull long jump, 1998

📏 Wind-aided 24-9 to win long jump championship

The Cape Henlopen senior was Delaware's fourth Penn Relays individual champion and its first and only in the long jump.

27. Delcastle girls 4x400, 2010

⌚ 3:55.48 to win Northern Delaware final

The team of Javonna Dickerson, Krystal Casseus, Kristina Viamantie and Celina Emerson set the Northern Delaware record. They finished third in the Philadelphia Area final and went on to run the second-fastest time in state history at the New Castle County Championships.

26. Salesianum boys 4x800, 2000

⌚ 7:50.04 to place fifth in 4x800 Championship of America

The Sals took down Delaware's oldest track and field record at the time, keyed by a fast opening leg by Rob LoBue (1:54.7) and a big anchor from Charlie Dielmann (1:55.9). In between, Salesianum received splits of 1:59.2 and 2:00.2 from Brian Monaghan and Eric Eckstrand.

"This is where you want to show you can do that [time]," Salesianum coach Ralph Heiss said.

25. Ty Roberts triple jump, 1979

📏 47-9.75 to win triple jump championship

The Tower Hill senior fouled on four of six attempts, but went far enough on his second try to best runner-up Dorant Bartlett of the Bahamas.

24. Greg Rowe shot put, 1979

📏 59-8.5 to win shot put championship

The Woodbridge senior set the state record with his Penn Relays-winning toss in 1979.

23. Padua 4x800, 1984

⌚ 9:17.9 to qualify for Championship of America

The team of sisters Kim and Beth Webster, Marti Meier and Michelle Lucey held the 4x800 record from 1984 to 2006 with their performance in the Thursday qualifying heats. In the championship final, they ran 9:39.5 to place 10th.

22. Reagan Anderson 1,600, 2013

⌚ 4:50.66 to place second in mile championship

The Tatnall senior led with 100 meters to go, but came up just shy of St. Mary's Jamie Phelan, losing by six hundredths of a second. Anderson would go on to run the second-fastest 1,600 in state history and holds the 800 state record.

21. Lydia Olivere 3,000, 2018

⌚ 9:35.14 to place second in 3,000 championship

About seven hours after anchoring Padua to a school record in the 4x800, Olivere launched a late charge and picked up two spots to finish second by seven tenths of a second. She recorded the second-best 3,000 time in state history, ahead of her sister Lindsey's 9:48.4 with Archmere at the 2011 Penn Relays and behind 2011's winner Haley Pierce of Tatnall (9:16.35).

20. Howard boys 4x100, 1989

⌚ 41.99 to place fifth in 4x100 Championship of America

Dominique Upshur, Sean Campbell, Toriano Ayers and Nolan Tucker ran the second-fastest time in state history.

19. Lynn Harris long jump, 1999

📏 19-5.5 to place third in long jump

The jump from Christiana's Harris stood as the state record from 1999 to 2018. The Penn Relays winner in 1999, Elva Goulbourne of Jamaica, set the event record with a leap of 21 feet.

18. Omar Rogers shot put, 2001

📏 63-4.75 to win shot put championship

The Newark junior reached No. 2 on Delaware's all-time performance list with his Penn Relays-winning throw. Rogers, who transferred to Newark from Pennsylvania's Glen Mills, is behind only the 64-8 by Howard's Terry Thomas.

17. William Penn boys 4x800, 1979

⌚ 7:50.2 to win 4x800 qualifying heat

The Colonials team of Rick Cornelius (1:59.8), Pat Gahan (2:01.4), Dennis Dillard (1:54.8) and Darryl Warren (1:54.2) held the state record for two decades with their time from qualifying. In a rain-soaked championship race, William Penn finished last in a field of nine.

16. Howard boys 4x400, 2017

⌚ 3:16.32 to win Philadelphia Area final

The team of Ian Chege (49.21), Edwin Rosembert (48.35), Julian Brown (50.19) and Brandon Justin (48.59) produced the second-fastest 4x400 in state history and set a Philadelphia Area event record. The same team ran 3:18.73 that year to set the current Northern Delaware event record.

15. Breanna Kennedy javelin, 2008

📏 149-2 to win javelin championship

Kennedy, a Caravel senior, became the first Delaware high school girl to win an individual event at Penn Relays when she won the javelin with a throw 149 feet and 2 inches at the 2008 Penn Relays, her fourth time contesting the event at Franklin Field. Delaware stopped contesting the javelin in the 1970s due to safety concerns, but Kennedy, the shot put and discus state record holder at the time, was regularly among the region's best.

14. Myrissa McFolling-Young discus, 2017

📏 156-9 to place fourth in discus

McFolling-Young entered the 2017 Penn Relays with a discus personal best of 142-6. The Smyrna senior surpassed that mark in four of her five legal throws and left Franklin Field with the new Delaware record, annihilating the previous mark by more than nine feet. It remains the state record.

13. Vicki Huber 1,500, 1984

⌚ 4:30.2 to place third in 1,500 championship

Huber returned to place second in the 1,500 her senior year, but her time as a junior in 1984 was a second faster. When converted to 1,600 meters, the Concord standout's effort was roughly even to 4:50. She was Delaware's best at the distance for more than two decades and is currently sixth all time.

With Villanova, Huber won seven Penn Relays titles was named College Athlete of the Meet twice. Her 1988 distance medley relay team holds the event record. Huber was inducted to the Penn Relays Wall of Fame in 1995.

12. Christina Hillman shot put, 2011

📏 48-8 to win shot put championship

Hillman shattered Breanna Kennedy's three-year-old state record while joining her in the ring of Delaware's Penn Relays individual champions. The St. Thomas More senior went on to throw 49-1 at the Meet of Champions (Delaware's current state record) and 49-6.5 at New Balance Nationals, where she placed second.

11. Delcastle boys distance medley relay, 1989

⌚ 10:17.28 to place third in DMR Championship of America

Anchor leg Anthony Stewart couldn't bring the Cougars from fifth to the tape across the final 1,600 meters, but his 4:19 split was strong enough to help Delcastle to the distance medley state record.

For the last 35 years, no Delaware team has come within 10 seconds of the time produced by Stewart and teammates Cornelius Jones, Robert Richardson and Gua-wan Smith.

The quartet also placed third in the 4x800 Championship of America, running 7:51.59, the second-fastest time in state history at that point.

10. Dom Della Pelle mile, 2006

⌚ 4:13.82 to win mile championship

As a junior at Salesianum, Della Pelle surged to the win in the final 100 meters at the 2006 Penn Relays to become Delaware's first and only mile champion. His time broke Jim Bray of Newark's 34-year-old state record, although it was surpassed later that spring by Tatnall's Brian Sklodowski at the Meet of Champions.

9. Terry Thomas shot put, 1982

📏 62-10 to win shot put championship

Thomas was looking for a throw of 70 feet in his senior year at Howard. While he fell short of that goal, his marks remain the standards in Delaware more than four decades later.

Thomas was just the third Delaware high schooler to win a Penn Relays championship. He threw 62-10 and earned the title of High School Boys Athlete of the Meet. Two weeks earlier, he had tossed 64-8 at the Father Judge Relays, which broke his own state record. He also holds the discus state record with a throw of 195-10 at the 1982 New Castle County Championships.

8. Marquis Dendy triple jump, 2010

📏 50-10.75 to win triple jump championship

The Middletown junior broke a 12-year-old state record and became the second Delawarean to win the Penn Relays triple jump, joining Tower Hill's Ty Roberts (1979). Dendy won again the following year to become Delaware's first-ever two-time Penn Relays champion. He returned to Franklin Field as a senior at Florida in 2015 and won the college men's triple jump.

7. Tatnall girls distance medley relay, 2009

⌚ 11:49.37 to win DMR Championship of America

The Hornets smashed the state record and became the second Delaware high school team to win a Championship of America title, joining Howard's 1962 440-yard relay team.

Tatnall received a strong start from 1,200-meter runner Katie Buenaga then led in the next three legs run by Tia Cooper, Carly Simmons and Juliet Bottorff. They won by nine seconds and dispensed their school's own state record, run in 2007, by almost 20 seconds. It is currently the second-best time in state history.

6. Michael Jensen pole vault, 2012

📏 16-4.75 to win pole vault championship

As an Appoquinimink junior, Jensen raised Delaware's boys pole vault state record more than 10 inches. His winning vault at the 2012 Penn Relays is the third-best in meet history. He is the only Delaware high schooler to have cleared 16 feet.

5. Howard boys 440-yard relay, 1962

⌚ 43.0 to win 440-yard relay Championship of America

Lee Williams, Courtland Camper, Randy Brittingham and Spencer Henry in 1962 made Howard the first Delaware school to win a Championship of America race. The Wildcats were the first Delaware high schoolers to receive a Penn Relays watch and the event's signature massive wheel.

Teams were even at the second exchange, then Brittingham opened a lead and Henry held the advantage.

"Our baton-passing was perfect," coach Quinton Sterling said. "That was a beautiful pass, in particular, between Camper and Brittingham and enabled Brittingham to get away to that quick lead."

4. William Penn girls 4x400, 1984

⌚ 3:49.6 to win qualifying heat, advance to championship

Two teams broke the girls 4x400 state record in the Thursday qualifying heats of the 1984 Penn Relays. But it's William Penn's 3:49.6 — run moments after Padua shaved four hundredths of a second from the old record — that has stood time's test atop the state leaderboard.

The team of Shayla Baine, Connie Ellerbe, Tara Fisher and Theresa Hill had been shooting for a time around 3:55. They ended up breaking the state record by more than three seconds. Baine, Ellerbe and Fisher were freshmen.

3. Howard boys 4x400, 1984

⌚ 3:14.1 to win qualifying heat, advance to championship

The Howard team of Theron Palmer (49.6), Adrian Murphy (49.0), Yusuf Nuridden (47.6) and Tony Brown (47.9) ran a state-record time that has seldom been challenged since their 1984 Penn Relays showing. The time is all the more remarkable considering the circumstances behind it.

Nuridden was nearly finished the third leg in Howard's morning heat when he realized Brown, the team's anchor, was nowhere to be found in the exchange zone. Brown was in the bullpen after being taken off the track by a security guard after an official mistakenly thought Brown had already run his leg. "I kept screaming, 'I haven't run yet!' But the guy, this big guard, wouldn't listen," Brown said.

The track judges, realizing the error, allowed Howard to race again in another heat an hour and 20 minutes later. Howard dominated on the second attempt with Palmer, an injury replacement that day, and Nuridden slicing time from their earlier splits. They entered the Championship of America with the second-fastest time in qualifying, but placed fifth in 3:20.19. It was the team's third race of the day.

2. Haley Pierce 3,000, 2011

⌚ 9:16.35 to win 3,000 championship

Pierce earned High School Girls Athlete of the Meet honors after running the second-fastest 3,000 in Penn Relays history. It was, at the time, the fastest 3,000 in state history by more than 30 seconds and remains the state's greatest effort at the distance event. Pierce's pace corresponds to a 3,200 mark (the event contested in Delaware) of just under 10 minutes. No other Delaware high schooler has run faster than 10:27.

1. Tatnall girls distance medley relay, 2012

⌚ 11:28.86 to win DMR Championship of America

The Tatnall team of Reagan Anderson, Lindsay Voltz, Julie Williams and Haley Pierce set a high school Penn Relays record that still stands today. On the 1,600-meter anchor leg, Pierce moved the Hornets into first place, clocking a 4:42.9 split that helped the team win by more than 10 seconds. They surpassed the previous record by 5.6 seconds.

Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: The 30 best Penn Relays performances in Delaware high school history