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Penn Relays Archive Race
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The North Carolina and national distance medley relay record has been one of the longer standing marks, having stood nationally since 2001 and since 2006 in North Carolina.
Alan Webb, the High School National Record holder in the Mile (3:53.43) as well as the current American Record Holder in the Mile (3:46.91) led his South Lakes (VA) team to a 9:49.78 DMR. Jack Bolas split a 4:03 1,600m to bring Chapel Hill the North Carolina DMR State Record of 10:06.13.
But on Friday, Chapel Hill's North Carolina state record is going to be in serious jeopardy. The same could be said about the national record.
Christ School has developed into one of the stronger distance programs in North Carolina, headlined by the state's two best milers in Rocky Hansen and Dawson Reeves.
They'll handle seven of the 10 laps around Franklin Field for the Greenies, and they could make history as they seek a Penn Relays Wheel alongside teammates Kahzi Sealey and Brendan Regan on the 800m and 400m legs, respectively.
The duo of Hansen and Reeves now hold every single North Carolina 1,600m/Mile record outdoors, with Hansen holding the junior and senior class record as well as the overall state record and Reeves holding the freshman and sophomore class record.
You can watch them live on FloTrack on Friday, April 28th at 5:05 PM EST.
Let's take a look at the splits from the 2001 South Lakes team compared to the Christ School team we will see race at Penn Relays on Friday's personal bests.
| Team | 1200m | 400m | 800m | 1600m | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 South Lakes Splits | 3:03.2 | 50.2 | 1:56.6 | 3:59.8 | 9:49.78 |
| Richard Smith | Justin Smyser | Kanda Karmo | Alan Webb | ||
| 2023 Christ School PRs | 3:00.0 (4:09 PR) | 52.11 | 1:56.87 | 3:59.25 | 9:48.12 |
Dawson Reeves | Brendan Regan | Kahzi Sealey | Rocky Hansen |
Dawson Reeves will run the 1,200m for the Greenies, and behind only his teammate Rocky Hansen has proven to be the second best Miler in North Carolina. Just last weekend he closed in 2:01 over the final 800m to win the Carolina Distance Carnival with a 4:10 1600m split. If you take that 4:10 and equate it to 1200m it would put him at around 3:00. Indoors at the VA Showcase Reeves clocked 3:10, but think there is a lot of time he can take off that.
The seasons best above for Regan at 400m, Sealey at 800m and Hansen for the 1600m put Christ School just under South Lakes National Record. While it's within reach there is no room for error and they'll need four boys to be at their best. While Hansen has run 3:59.25 for his 1600m split in an open Mile, it will also be a lot more difficult to do so likely being out front on his own. Alan Webb ran 3:51 for the 1600m split the same year he split 3:59 in the 1600m on South Lakes DMR. On the same note, we've seen crazy performances from Rocky Hansen the last two years, and being well under 3:59.25 would be impressive, but not surprising from an athlete of his caliber.
Kahzi Sealey has had an impressive track season thus far improving to 4:19 for 1600m and 1:56 for 800m after running 4:30 and 1:58 as a junior. Reeves likely will get them out to a fast start through 1200m and Regan will be amongst the best on the 400m legs, but Christ School likely will still be in a competitive race over the 800m leg.
Regan will hope to build off a strong opening leg from Reeves and bring the stick around out from for the Greenies. He's run 52.11 open and with a good exchange giving him a running start we should see him be able to shave some times while trying to hold off a strong field of 400m runners.
Below is the entries for tomorrows Championship of America DMR.
