2023 Penn Relays: Key Races To Watch

The 2023 outdoor track season is underway and this weekend, I’ll be at the Penn Relays with Kyle on Friday and Saturday. It’s one of my favorite meets of the year since attending for the first time in 2013. There’s so much history and tradition.

But what — at least to me — sets it apart from any other track meet in America, if not the world, is the unrelenting energy from the fans. Whether it’s a collegiate championship DMR coming down to the final straight or leg three of the 17th heat of the HS 4x200, people are on their feet cheering, and it’s a knowledgeable crowd, to boot. It’s absolutely electric.

To give us a chance to recover between sessions, we won’t be hosting any CITIUS MAG group runs in Philadelphia this weekend but don’t be shy to say hello if you catch us stuffing our faces with Jamaican jerk chicken. 

If you’re unable to attend the meet in person, you’ll be able to watch on Flotrack with a $29.99 monthly subscription. Click here for a full schedule and results.

Here are 8 races I’m excited to watch…

High School Girls 4x800m

Back when the Penn Relays boasted some star-studded USA vs. The World relay heats, Franklin Field would be BUZZING. I want it to reach that level of hype when American fans get behind Union Catholic (NJ) and Jamaican fans back Edwin Allen. Edwin Allen won last year’s race in 8:54.58. Union Catholic was third in 9:06.14, but we saw a different and more improved team indoors when they finished second at New Balance Nationals in 8:48.86. The last U.S. high school team to win the high school girls’ 4x800m Championship of America was Shenendehowa (NY) in 2016.

High School Boys’ 4x400m Championship of America | Friday, 4:20 p.m. ET

Remember when Bullis School’s 15-year-old star Quincy Wilson captivated us at New Balance Nationals with a 46.67 indoors? Now, we’ll get to see how his team fares against legendary Jamaican schools like St. Elizabeth Tech and Queen's Royal. Last year, Bullis was second to Kingston College, 3:09.52 to 3:11.90. Good luck, though. Jamaican high schools have won this event every year since 2008.

College Women’s 4x1500m Championship of America | Saturday, 12:40 p.m. ET

Last year, Arkansas broke the collegiate record with a 16:53.87 (Krissy Gear anchored in 4:10.7) win over NC State. The Razorbacks will not be back to defend their title and that record could come under threat from the likes of Washington

High School Girls’ 4x100m Championship of America | Saturday, 1:05 p.m. ET

Jamaica’s Edwin Allen is going for its eighth consecutive title in this event. Last year, they won in a Penn Relays record of 43.18s. Last month, they lost to rival school Hydel at Jamaica’s Champs so look for a good showdown between those two schools.

College Men’s 4xMile Championship of America | Saturday, 1:20 p.m. ET

I want to see a record go down! Oregon’s 16:03.24 NCAA record has stood for way too long. That team consisted of Matthew Centrowitz (3:59.53), Andrew Wheating (3:59.60), Shadrack Biwott (4:05.20) and Galen Rupp (3:58.91). Last year, the On Athletics Club was vocal about attacking the 15:49.08 world record by Ireland in 1985 but ended up running 16:04.69.

However, in recent years, we’ve seen this race get comically tactical and slow because time doesn't matter and everyone just wants to lift the wheel at the end of the day.

This past indoor season, we learned just how deep Washington was in the mile with the likes of Joe Waskom (3:51.90 PR); Brian Fay (3:52.03 PR); Nathan Green (3:52.76 PR); Luke Houser (3:52.87 PR); Aidan Ryan (3:53.65 PR); and Aaron Ahl (3:55.60 PR). Coach Andy Powell is turning to Houser, Sam Ellis, Green and Waskom for this one. [Note: Washington will be without senior Kieran Lumb, who ran the second-fastest Canadian indoor mile with a 3:52.62 in February but turned pro this outdoor season.]

The other two teams that I will be watching closely are Oklahoma State (which includes NCAA indoor 3000m champion Fouad Messaoudi) and Virginia, who had four guys under 3:58 during the indoor season including our contributor Gary Martin.

Men’s 110m Hurdles | Saturday, 2:15 p.m. ET

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devon Allen has returned to track. He won this race last year in 13.11s and opened up this year by winning the 100m (10.34s, +1.8m/s wind) and 110m hurdles (10.39s, +3.9m/s wind) at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Maryland. It’s just good to see him back after the false start fiasco at last year’s World Championships.

Men’s Mile | Saturday, 2:46 p.m. ET

U.S. 10,000m champion Joe Klecker is dropping down to the open mile for the first time on the track since 2020. I think that 4:04.13 personal best is enjoying its final moments since he’ll have some great company to push him to a personal best, including teammates George Beamish, Mario Garcia Romo and NACAC champion Eric Holt. We’ve actually never seen Beamish and Garcia Romo race head-to-head on the track so we’ll see how that shakes out.

Women’s 600m | Saturday, 3:46 p.m. ET

One of the best races of last year’s Penn Relays was Ajee’ Wilson pushing the pace early to try and beat Athing Mu. Mu ended up winning in a personal best of 1:22.74, while Wilson paid the price and faded to 5th place, but major kudos for attacking it. Wilson will have her hands full in this one with Jamaica’s Natoya Goule and Sage Hurta-Klecker (who won the 800m at last year’s Penn Relays and is now dropping down).

More to come soon but the CITIUS MAG team including me, Kyle, Mac Fleet and Christina Henderson will be in Los Angeles next week for Sound Running’s Track Fest (On Track Nights’ LA stop).

We’ll be doing a pre-meet show on Friday and bringing you interviews, updates and analysis on Saturday. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, get your tickets here.

Follow all the action along with us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for exclusive CITIUS MAG content and commentary. Enjoy your weekend!

🙏 Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez)