1:30pm Girls 4x400 (heats)
Recap: Event 142 provided the fastest girls 4x400m of the day as St. Jago (JAM), last year's third place team in the COA 4x400m, won in 3:46.54. Shanice Rowe dropped a sub 56 for one of the fastest splits of the day. The only other team to break 3:50 was 2nd place in this heat, Colombia (NJ), who got 5th last year when Olivia Baker anchored them. They ran 3:49.64 today. Holmwood Tech (JAM) had a strong third leg in this heat, but it wasn't enough to reel in as Colombia as Holmwood Tech (last year's COA 4x400m runner-up) placed 3rd in 3:51.22. Benjamin Cardozo (NY) in 4th with a 3:54.80.
Event 143 saw the third fastest time of the day from one of Jamaica's most powerful programs, Vere Tech (3:50.65). The squad from Clarendon, JAM had two girls split in the 56s with Rene Medley (56.33) and Sanique Walker (56.72). The next few teams were some of the best mile relays in the mid-atlantic region as NBN Indoor 4x800m champs Western Branch, VA (3:51.50) led Elizabeth Seton, MD (3:52.77) and Paul Robeson, NY (3:53.76)
Event 144 was very action packed as the Papine (JAM) went into the final exchange with the lead but the Nansemond River (VA) girls sporting their usual "WAR" jerseys, made war on the Islanders and blew past Papine over the final 150m winning in 3:50.69 to Papine's 3:54.56.
Event 145 had the reigning COA 4x400m champions put on a clinic as Edwin Allen coasted to a 3:51.75 making it look easy. Last year they won by more than six seconds in 3:34.76. Now although they might not be quite as good as they were last year, expect Edwin Allen to unleash something silly in the COA race later this weekend.
All the COA 4x400m qualifiers came from that heat... except one. North Penn out of Lansdale, PA won Event 152, the Suburban National Division from gun to tape and earned themselves a spot in the coveted COA final with their 3:52.10 - Uche Nwogwugwu (57.31), Leiana Dean (57.45), Mikaela Vlasic (59.36), Allison King (58.00)
All the teams mentioned above have qualified for the COA race except Benjamin Cardozo (NY), Paul Robeson (NY), and Papine (JAM).