Cheltenham finishes fifth in Championship of America 4x400

Christian Brissett and Kyle Davis aren't used to running from behind.

Cheltenham's team of Cordell Richardson, Brissett, Davis, and John Lewis won the Penn Relays Suburban American 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3 minutes, 15.86 seconds, winning by more than six seconds. In a race with 44 runners, the Panthers had four of the top seven splits.

That win qualified them for the 4x400 Championship of America, in which they finished fifth (out of seven teams) and ran a 3:15.39, a record for the team. They finished behind three Jamaican teams and T.C. Williams of Alexandria, Va.

The Panthers' second time was more than five seconds faster than any other area school's and nearly two seconds faster than the 3:17.38 that won them the New Balance indoor national championship in March. The runners, who spent much of the second race in last place, said they weren't used to running from behind.

"I wasn't getting tired," Brissett said. "I realized I was last and . . . I felt like it was a longer race than it was. I kept on going and kept on going. I didn't even get tired until the end."

Richardson, the leadoff runner, began the race in Lane 4. There was no team in Lane 5, and he said that threw him off a little.

"It was hard to gauge off all the way in Lane 6," Richardson said. "So I just tried to get out as hard as I could without burning too much. At the 200 mark, the T.C. Williams guy [Mahlique Booth] started to slow [down], but then I started to slow down. I knew I had to bring it around to Christian, and I kind of died on the straightaway."

Lewis, the anchor, ran his leg in 47.00 seconds. He brought Cheltenham from last place to fifth. He had a busy day, also placing third in the 400 hurdles championship with a time of 52.46 seconds.

"I just came out and ran the best I could, and it paid off," Lewis said of his anchor leg in the Championship of America, his third race of the day.

The four runners, all seniors, agreed they capitalized on the energy of the crowd, even though a large majority were Jamaicans cheering for their hometown teams. Five of the seven teams in the Championship of America were Jamaican.

"Even if you're in last, wherever you're at, the whole crowd is trying to push you," Richardson said.

"It's definitely a good feeling."

Last year, Upper Darby's Donovan St. Louis took the baton for the anchor leg a close second to a Penncrest runner. He took the lead and clinched the win for his team.

This year, he did it again.

St. Louis, a senior, set a personal best, running his leg in 47.88 seconds and leading Upper Darby to its second straight win in the High School Boys' Central 4x400. The Royals (Gianni Lawrence, Jared Carter, Mason Weh, and St. Louis) ran a time of 3:20.51, which was 19th out of 550 teams in the qualifying heats.

"It was difficult because I know he's an 800 runner, and he could hold me off," St. Louis said of Evan Emanuel, Penncrest's anchor. "I know I had my teammates who were relying on me to catch him."

"Hopefully it's not my best of my lifetime."

Pennsbury's 4x800 team of Eric Kersten, Alek Sauer, Sam Webb, and Zach Yeger placed fourth in the Championship of America with a time of 7:45.42. Sauer's split of 1:51.98 was the second-best of the race. That race also included Central Bucks West (Andrew Baker, Jake Claricurzio, Carter Zerweck, and Rock Fortna), which took seventh in 7:49.94; and Central Bucks East (Ata Shahideh, Oliver Boucher, Louis Kettelberger, and Jake Brophy), which finished 12th in 8:04.25.

Penn Wood (Ahmere Ponzo, Charlie Wells, Dennis Manyeah, and Ndiaga Seck) won the Suburban A 4x400 race by more than three seconds, running 3:20.85.

Dave Marrington of Neshaminy took fourth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 52.92.