35 hours of competition. Over 425 races. An average of one race every 5 minutes.

These statistics belong to the annual Penn Relays held from April 23-25. And among the 22,0000 entrants that competed, Hammonton High School made its appearance.

Girls Track Coach Michelle Biliki and 8 female runners, attended the relay along with Coach Joe Thompson and members of boys track team.

“It’s always an honor attending the Penn Relays,” Biliki said. “Ever since I was in high school I took part in the festivities and to this day I still get a rush from the atmosphere.”

Some of the runners, including Taylor Downey, Zoe Conover, Tamara Webster, Jane Donio-Enscoe, and Courtney Conway, participated in the 4X100 meter and 4X400 meter.  Captians Tabitha Mackenzie and Valerie Pagano were brought as backups for the races. Runners were picked at time trials the Tuesday prior to the event.

“Every year I attend Penn I run at Penn I never seem to lose any excitement,” said senior Zoe Conover. “It never gets old.”

The 4X100m relay team of Courtney Conway, Taylor Downey, Jane Donio Ensco and Tamara Webster ran a 52.78 race. The 4x400m relay team of Zoe Conover, Courtney Conway, Tamara Webster and Jane Donio-Enscoe ran a 4:17.02 race.

Also the guys attended along with Coach Thompson and Coach Dey. The  4X100m relay team ran a 47.11 race and The  4x400m relay team of Juvante Thompson, Ron Gibson Joe Dougherty and Tyler Morgan ran a 3:32.04 race.

The race has a rich history.  When the University of Pennsylvania Track and Field committee wanted to add depth to their 1893 spring handicapped meet, they added relay races. It all started with four men al running a quarter of a mile one after another. This is currently known as the 4X400m relay. The Penn Relays impacted the history of the sport of relay racing and helped it become as popular as it is today.

The firstPenn Relays Carnival was held on April 21, 1895 at Franklin Field. Since then, it is has come a long way. Originally only two teams participated in the meet and now more than 100 schools and colleges attend the very prestigious relay.