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Penn Relays: Retooled Lenape girls' team takes third in 4x400

Dana Duffield and three new relay mates fared well. Winslow Twp. won the heat.

In the lead-up to her first trip to the Penn Relays, Lenape senior Dana Duffield had expected her 4x400 relay team to be intact about a week ago, but a scheduling complication made things interesting.

Duffield's typical teammates, Megan Quimby, Shelby Whetstone, and Shannon Lambert, were also due to compete in the distance medley Championship of America, which took place an hour after the relay.

As a result, three new teammates were added earlier this week.

The team coalesced quickly and the result was a third-place finish Thursday in the South Jersey Large Schools heat.

The team of Iyianna Williams, Flora Ahiarakwe, Janeya Hammond and Shakira Dancy from Winslow Township claimed first place in 3 minutes, 51.84 seconds.

Paul VI, comprised of Natalie Burns, Jariah McFadden, Keyanna Watkins and Carly Schmidt, finished second in 3:59.55.

"There was a little bit of stress," Duffield said, "but overall excitement because it was my first time. Not technically my last time, because I committed to Rutgers for track and field, so I'll be here again."

One of her new relay teammates is almost brand new to the sport. Lenape senior Skyla O'Connor will play college basketball at Slippery Rock University next season, but the 5-foot-6 shooting guard wanted to stay in shape this spring so she decided to give track a shot.

On Thursday, O'Connor stepped onto one of the area's grandest stages as the team's lead runner. Duffield ran the second leg followed by Ciaron Williams and Sadie Horner.

The skills required for the two sports don't necessarily translate, O'Connor said, but something else certainly does.

"The mind-set," said O'Connor, whose older brother Kris played basketball at Rowan after finishing his high school career at Paul VI. "Mind-set is to keep pushing, and it's the same in basketball. In track or any sport, it's the same thing, because even if you want to stop, you just have to keep going."

Ciaron Williams, who will run at La Salle next year, had Penn Relays experience and urged her teammates to battle through the emotion of the moment.

"I tell everyone who's running here that it is so much fun," she said. "I think it's such a great experience. It gives you an adrenaline rush and an idea of how big meets are run, with teams from all over the world."

Also of note:

Mainland Regional's Alyssa Aldridge finished third in the girls' 3,000-meter championship in 9:50.11. Jessica Lawson, from Corning-Painted Post in New York, took first place in 9:37.63.

Audubon's 4x400 team of Rachel Parr, Alexis Staib, Holly Schaffer and Bailie Rizzo won the South Jersey Small Schools race in 4:00.44. Collingswood (Emily Wallace, Madison Giordano, Taylor Perkowski, Morgan McConnell) took second in 4:02.04 and Camden (Larae Davis, Lenaami Morton, Ja'nayzia Morris, Kayla Hightower) was third in 4:03.29.

cartera@phillynews.com@AceCarterINQ