PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- By Friday, Seton Hall Prep's ambitious Penn Relays triple was down to one event.
The New Jersey program had a decision to make, and their choice was pretty simple: Let's go all-in for the Championship of America boys 4x400 final.
Banged up and needing an extra 4x800 runner, Seton Hall opted against that race in favor of the 1,600m relay, which they felt could yield the team's best performance. In fact, the team had won an indoor national title at New Balance Nationals Indoor in March.
But saying all that, there was no guarantee.
Didn't matter to them.
Seton Hall Prep still managed to put together a magnificent performance on Friday, utilizing its lineup with primal efficiency, and almost single-handedly took home the title at the line, finishing in second in 3:16.06, less than a second off of Kingston College's winning mark of 3:15.62.
Calabar was third in 3:16.54, while Edwin Allen was fourth in 3:17.08.
Bullis School, which had the fastest time of the prelims, fell to sixth in the final, finishing in 3:19.09 -- despite a 46.50 anchor from freshman Quincy Wilson.
Seton Hall Prep was led by Ryan Matulonis, Xavier Donaldson, Nick DeVita and Brandon Williams.