Track: North Jersey highlights from Day 1 at Penn Relays

There was one disappointment in Layla Giordano's otherwise perfect day at the Penn Relays Thursday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

She didn't get a chance to receive the crowd's plaudits in the infield at Franklin Field after dominating the high school girls discus throw.

"I wanted to be on the podium like (former Demarest star) Niki Woods was when she won the javelin two years ago,'' said the Old Tappan senior after she threw 167-10 to win the event by more than 10 feet over Najhada Seymoure of Excelsior of Jamaica. "They had a nice ceremony over by the discus area where I got my (Penn Relays) watch but I wanted to be in the stadium.

Giordano finished sixth a year ago with a throw of 145-4, one spot behind Seymoure, who threw 149-6 a year for fifth place and the final medal in 2023.

"I knew I was ranked first and I knew the other girl was very good but this time I came in prepared to throw close to my PR (170-4) and if I did I thought it would be enough.''

Giordano was keyyed up for her first throw that she threw a sector foul well over 150 feet and then threw a "safe" 151-6 to guarantee four more throws after Seymoure grabbed the lead with her best effort of 157-9 on her second attempt.

Giordano's third throw was the winner and she knew it as soon as she released it, clapping her hands before she stepped out of the ring. After it landed no one came within 10 feet of the mark except for the one Giordano says got away in the fifth round.

"I had a really good one out around 170 feet and I accidentally stepped out,'' she said.

With the win Giordano became the first ever North Jersey winner of the event and the first New Jersey winner since 2004. The next seven finishers were from either Jamaica or the Bahamas.

Giordano, who'll be a teammate of Woods at Princeton next fall, had thrown a previous season's best of 164-5 Monday in a dual with Demarest and also threw a PR of 46-5 in the shot.

"I have confidence in both events,'' says the defending State Meet of Champs winners in both events. "But I have big goals in the discus; to throw 183.'' That's no coincidence. The state record is 182-0, thrown by former Donovan Catholic Alyssa Wilson in 2017.

IHA junior Julia Sobilo continued to show great consistency, finishing 11th with a throw of 126-4.

Ramapo leads record five wins in girls 4-x-400 relay heats

Ramsey won North Jersey's first girls 4-x-400 mini-wheel for winning one of the multiple heats of Penn's signature event, in 1978. In the ensuing 45 years, North Jersey teams have won as many as four races in a single year twice.

Thursday North Jersey brought home five plaques and might have brought home a sixth in Holy Angels hadn't been in the same heat as archrival IHA. Ramsey won a North Jersey record tying eighth plaque at around 2 p.m. followed by Old Tappan, Northern Highlands, Ramapo and the Blue Eagles with about 90 minutes, and all six schools broke 4:05, something only about 20% of the more than 550 teams in 44 heats achieved.

Here's a look race by race at the most sustained period of success at Penn in North Jersey history. (Estimated start time in headlines.

1:53: Ramsey runs away from Hewlett (NY) on final two legs

It had already been a fine day for the Rams before the gun went off in the seventh heat. The 4-x-800 had run creditably in their heat early in the morning and the 4-x-100 team of Catherine Larsen, Julia Costa, Kate Marie Monaco and Makayla Newman, all underclassmen, had shattered the school record by nearly a second, running 49.56, best among North Jersey teams and ninth among 189 New Jersey schools entered.

Costa led off the Rams with a sizzling 58.73 opening leg in the 4-x-400 and Newman ran a strong 1:01.14 as the Rams held a tight lead over Hewlett, which had just missed medalling in the New York state indoor championships in March.

"Somebody pushed me right after race started and I got angry and went right around her,'' said Costa, who finally was able to run winter track for the first time after finding a way to work around the asthma that prevented her from training the previous two winters. Then Newman held off the Hewlett second leg as the race seemed to turn into a two-team battle. "(Coach Matt) Wynne told me to go out comfortably and then kick as hard as I could,'' said Newman. The result was a small two meter lead as senior Jamie Gorman took the stick.

"When Makayla passed to me it was super close but by the time we came through the first curve, I had a much bigger lead and I knew I could hold,'' said Gorman, who ran 62.33 and opened the lead to nearly 30 meters. "I handed off to Kate Marie and yelled 'come on, you've got this' because I knew she had it.''

Monaco delivered a 59.98 final lap and comfortably won in 4:02.17, a huge season's best for the Rams. "I saw the gap Jamie was creating and I knew I had to do this,'' said Monaco, one of Bergen County's most versatile runners, who won the 800 at the Bergen Meet of Champions last spring. "I've run so many 400s since I got to Ramsey and I knew I had one more.

2:04: Old Tappan's young trio sets up a great veteran finish

None of the Golden Knights' first three runners had ever run a 400 at Penn before their Thursday race. But soph Angie Kelley and freshmen Nora Lee and Emme Fermin looked like cagey veterans keeping their team near the front against veteran teams from Suitland and Seneca Valley, two of Maryland's best teams.

Kelley ran a strong 62.21 opening leg that left her second, within 10 meters of early leader Seneca Valley and Lee (62.74) and Fermin (62.38) were even closer when the baton reached Dennis, the defending state 100 meter hurdles champion and one of the fiercest competitors in the state.

"It was hard getting around everyone from the back of the waterfall start,'' said Kelley, and Lee benefitted from her effort, saying "after the way Angie I knew I had to stay strong.''

Fermin knew her job was to "keep my place and give Abby a chance'', and unsurprisingly when she gave Dennis the baton, it was clear that the Harvard bound senior was ready.

" I had a really good group of underclassmen with me and I knew we hadn't gotten a wheel in a few years (since 2019) and it was my last race at Penn in an OT uniform.''

The two Maryland schools never had a chance. Dennis blasted a 57.21 anchor, the fastest of the day to that point and won by more than 20 meters over Suitland in 4:04.53, with Seneca Valley fading to third. "Between the 4-x-400 and Layla (discus champion Giordano) we're bringing a lot of hardware home.''

2:32: A third straight win for Northern Highlands was never in doubt

One lap into the race, Northern Highlands was second, behind Metrolina Christian and its leadoff runner Annie Miller, a 2:09 800 meter runner ranked third in North Carolina. But junior leadoff Meghan Buchanan was only 12 meters behind after a personal best 62.47 split and midway through the second leg, the Highlanders took over the lead and never looked back.

"This was my third time running here,'' said Rutgers-bound Anna Bryan-Jones, who had the race's fastest split, 59.09 which led to a slight lead over the North Carolina school as she handed off to junior Farrah Dello Russo . "We won wheels the other two years and I wanted to do my best to bring a third one home. It makes it a lot more fun when you're running together for something.''

By the time Dello Russo had completed her 60.92 second lap, the Highlanders had a 25 meter lead over Pleasantville and Metrolina Christian had faded to fifth. "I really didn't know I had a huge lead,'' said Dello Russo, a valued member of the Highlander cross-country team who has found her track legs in the 400 and 800. "I just wanted to hold the lead.''

Marist bound Rebecca MacLaren ran a comfortable 60.69 final lap and Northern Highlands won in 4:03.16, nearly 45 meters ahead of Pleasantville.

"It was so motivating to see Farrah coming in with such a big lead,'' said MacLaren, who has excelled in everything from 400 to 5,000 meters throughout her career. "Running for my team is the most fun I have in track.''

2:54: Ramapo's consistency overcomes Truman's brilliant third leg

Don't blame Julia Mattioli for the Green Raiders' inability to go wire-to-wire in the Green Raiders' second straight win. The sophomore ran Ramapo's fastest leg of the race, a personal best 59.09 but couldn't hold off Harry S Truman's Jadah Bentham, who blistered a 57.27 to grab a five meter lead at the second exchange.

"I had the lead until the third curve and I tried to hold on but she was too much for me, and I just made sure I got the stick to Erin as close as I could,'' said Mattioli. It turned out to be just fine.

Ramapo freshman Bridget Cannon, the surprise Bergen County 800 champion and state medalist handled the Penn Relays leadoff leg as if she was born to do it, running 59.18, four meters ahead of Truman's leadoff.

"I just used my soccer elbows to get out fast and did what coach (Bill Manzo) told us to do -- stay in the moment,'' she said. "I don't really remember much about the race.''

If she watches, she'll see that senior third leg Erin Skamas, who only started running last winter, made up the Truman lead with a 61.50 leg of her own, handing off to anchor Kyra Magerko with a slim lead and Magerko, another sophomore, ran a 60.26 anchor and wound up winning by 10 meters in 4:00.01, fastest North Jersey time of the day.

"Coach said it was okay to be nervous as long as I knew what to expect and I tried to stay close to the other girl until it was time to make my move,'' said Magerko.

The close shave with breaking four minutes didn't bother Mattioli, who proudly proclaimed, "we PR'd by six seconds from Saturday (Bergen County Relays) which was a seven second PR from the meet before. We'll break four minutes and maybe go even faster.''

3:30: IHA beats Holy Angels in a classic match-up

One of North Jersey's best rivalries played out on perhaps the biggest stage either team had ever faced,

Paige Burgess held off Ella Buoncuore in a stirring anchor leg with both runners finishing under 60 seconds and IHA won by a little more than a meter, running 4:00.44 to its rivals 4:00.70 in one of closest races of the day.

"They are a great team and they make us better by pushing us harder,'' said Burgess, who ran 59.63 for her final leg, as Buoncuore ran 59.51. "I knew I had to keep focused through the entire lap because I could hear people cheering for AHA right behind me I'm surprised how fast we both went.

As usual Gina Certo got the Angels off flying with a 56.04 split, one of the fastest of the day. Piper Portacio responded for IHA with a personal best 59.57, but trailed by about 25 meters. IHA's Elizabeth Burgess and Veronica Costello ran 60.46 and 60.80, respectively and Costello took a narrow lead into the final leg.

"We're really a sisterhood,'' said Portacio, who transferred from the now shuttered Immaculate Conception of Lodi, who was making her first appearance at Penn. "The girls made it an easy transition and running with them is great, because we're all really close.''

Perhaps the best part of the battle is that all eight runners on the two teams return next spring. And they'll meet again at least three more times in the next month. How fast can they all go?

4-x-100 relays

(Time, place in heat)

Ramsey (49.56, 2); IHA (49.80, 3); Paramus Catholic (50.01, 4); Ramapo (50.43, 2); Northern Highlands (51.16, 6); Hasbrouck Heights (51.24, 2); Hackensack (51.68, 3); Ridgewood (51.69, 3); Pascack Hills (51.85, 7); River Dell (51.87, 3); Wayne Valley (51.92, 2); Old Tappan (52.25, 3); Bergen Tech (52.41, 3); North Bergen (52.44, 7); Leonia (52.91, 4); Eastside (53.05, 5); Lakeland (53.20, 6); Passaic Valley (54.22, 7); Fort Lee (54.60, 6); Fair Lawn (54.85, 6); Tenafly (55.27, 5); West Milford (56.40, 6); Wallington (57.86, 9). Holy Angels won its heat in 50.05 but was disqualified.

4-x-400 relays

(Time, place in heat) (medal winners in boldface)

Ramapo (Bridget Cannon, Julia Mattioli, Erin Skamas, Kyra Magenko), (4:00.01),1); IHA (Piper Portacio, Elizabeth Burgess, Veronica Costello, Paige Burgess), (4:00.44, 1)); Holy Angels (Gina Certo (56.04), Amaris Hiatt, Alexandra Darmanian, Ella Buonocore), 4:00.70, 2); Ramsey (Julia Costa, Makayla Newman, Jamie Gorman, Kate Marie Monaco)(4:02.17, 1); Northern Highlands (Meghan Buchanan, Anna Bryan-Jones, Farrah Dello Russo, Rebecca MacLaren); (4:03.16, 1); Old Tappan (Angie Kelley, Nora Lee, Emme Fermin, Abigail Dennis); (4:04.53, 1); Wayne Valley (4:08.87, 4); Paramus Catholic (4:12.43, 5); Hasbrouck Heights (4:12.52, 4); Leonia (4:15.16, 6); Mahwah (4:15.34, 8); River Dell (4:15.37, 7); Tenafly, (4:17.57, 2); Paramus (4:18.32, 6); Passaic Valley (4:20.25, 9); Bergen Tech (4:21.19, 9); Lakeland (4:22.03, 10); Garfield (4:28.35, 7); Eastside (4:30.26, 5); North Bergen (4:34.71, 12); Fair Lawn (4:40.71, 13); West Milford (4:48.82, 12)

Other results

4-x-800 relays: 15. Ramsey (Ashleigh Gorman, Emmy Bender, Katie Rubin, Alexa Friedland), 10:03.83; 12. Ridgewood (Avery Sheridan, Ayla Cooke, Katherine Keating, Maeve Schoeler), 9:41.92.

Discus: 1. Layla Giordano, Old Tappan, 167-10; 11. Julia Sobilo, IHA, 126-4.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Track: NJ highlights from Day 1 at Penn Relays