Penn Relays: Franklin wins 4x100, breaks county record

PHILADELPHIA - In the winter, members of the Franklin High School boys track team came to head coach Dashaun Gourdine with a goal.

“It was, ‘We want to put Franklin back on the map, where it used to be,’” Gourdine said. “I said, if you want to put the work in I’ll be right there with you. Let’s see how far we can go.”

The answer was on display Saturday at the Penn Relays, when the Warriors won the 4x100 large schools final before a roaring crowd of 44,469 at Franklin Field. They clocked 41.98, breaking a 33-year-old Somerset County record.

Tyler Howard, Nile Uzzell, Chris Jenkins and Mario Heslop carried the baton for Franklin, whose time was the fourth-fastest among all American teams at the meet. The old county standard was 42.06, set by Franklin in 1983.

“It feels good that we’re adding to the dynasty,” Jenkins said.

LaSalle College (Pa.) finished second, well back in 42.41. Franklin led it from start to finish and blew away their trials time of 42.55 from Friday.

“This was a great experience -- big crowd, more nervous, adrenaline’s pumping,” Uzzell said. “I knew we could come here and do big things. We were hoping to run 42-low, so 41-high is icing on the cake.”

It almost didn’t happen. As the Warriors waited to be checked in at the paddock area, Heslop realized he had left his spikes in the bathroom. That set off a different kind of dash.

“I had to run all the way there and back,” he said.

He returned just in time. They were laughing about it afterward as Gourdine came down from the stands to give give everyone a high five. He’s a Franklin guy through and through, having starred in football and track for the Warriors in the 1990s.

That era featured a sprinter by the name of Kevin Lyles, who went on to become an All-American at Seton Hall University. Lyles’ two sons, Noah and Josephus Lyles, helped T.C. Williams (Va.) place third in the 4x100 Championship of America final in 40.56, the top American time at Penn. They also each split 45 seconds in the 4x400 to lead T.C. Williams to third place in the 4x400 championship.

The 1980s and 1990s were glory days for Franklin track, but no Warriors quartet ever broke 42 seconds -- until now.

“Hopefully our school will be appreciative of our accomplishment,” Jenkins said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve shown up like this at the Penn Relays.”

Mattis third in discus

A Penn Relays title was the only thing missing on Sam Mattis’ superb collegiate track resume. The Penn senior and former East Brunswick High School star could not change that Saturday.

Mattis finished third in the men’s discus championship with a distance of 196-7. That’s well short of the 221-3 he threw last month -- the world’s top mark at the time.

“This was really disappointing,” he said. “Just couldn’t put a throw together. Felt fine, just couldn’t finish. Something else was off each throw.”

The defending NCAA champion finished behind two Jamaicans, Fedrick Dacres (213-10) and Traves Smikle (208-0). A huge crowd, consisting mostly of Mattis supporters, turned out at the discus area.

“I’ll probably go to the gym right now and throw until I can’t move,” Mattis said. “Definitely feeling empty right now. All of my friends and family came, which was nice, but I just couldn’t do it.”

Top local 4x400s

Here’s a quick rundown of top Central Jersey squads in the boys’ 4x400 trials. There were 574 entrants in the event and it took a 3:16 to qualify for the eight-team final. East Orange posted New Jersey’s top time of 3:17.22.

Union Catholic (3:19.86): Greg Gibbs (51.67), Perry Christie (48.59), Anthony Dawson (48.74), Branden Roach (50.88).

Hunterdon Central (3:21.71): David Scheier (50.79), Sam Thomas (50.78), Jack Ismen (51.08), Vail Nazaryk (49.08).

Old Bridge (3:23.71): Mike Delvecchio (53.43), Kenny Brakoh (49.15), Chris Gilbert (50.40), Chris Rampino (50.75).

Rahway (3:24.30): Nasir Velez (51.43), Lenworth Wilson (49.59), Raul Torres (51.67), Corey McGhie (51.63).

East Brunswick (3:24.47): Brandon Phillip (50.27), Andrew Khalil (51.72), Josh Newton (51.24), Rob Ciuraru (51.25).

Montgomery (3:26.34): Mike Munoz (52.43), Dylan Koracevich (52.66), Avinash Boppana (52.32), Raouf Laadem (48.94).

Westfield (3:27.44): Nick Greenspon (50.83), Cameron McLaughlin (50.82), Coston O'Brien (54.16), Sid Douglas (51.63).

Perth Amboy (3:28.34): Juan Alejandro (51.65), Jon DeJesus (52.05), Deandre Brockman (52.48), Damian Daly (52.16).

Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.