Exeter Girls Relay Team Wins National 4x800 Title, Makes School History

EXETER, NH — Four Exeter High School athletes made history June 18, winning the girls' 4x800-meter relay at the New Balance Outdoor National Championship at the University of Pennsylvania.

Alexis Paterna, Brianna Paterna, Izzie Bremer and Madie Poteet finished in 8:49.48, beating 76 other teams and giving Exeter its first relay-specific national championship.

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The win capped a season in which the group also rewrote the New Hampshire and New England record books. According to SAU 16, Exeter first won the New Hampshire Meet of Champions by 47 seconds while breaking its own state record. The following weekend, the Blue Hawks won the New England Championships and beat the New England record by eight seconds.

Those performances placed Exeter among the top three seeds heading into the national meet in Philadelphia.

In the final, Poteet ran the opening leg in 2:14:92 and gave Exeter an early push. Brianna Paterna followed with one of the best performances of her career — a 2:11:44 split that moved Exeter into second place and set up a duel with Shenendehowa of New York.

Bremer then ran a 2:14:20 third leg and handed off with a two-second lead. Alexis Paterna closed the race with a 2:08:93 split to secure the national title.

The team's final time of 8:49:48 became the fastest 4x800-meter relay ever run by a New England high school and, according to the school, and ranks among the Top 10 performances ever recorded nationally.

The championship also adds to Exeter's national track history.

In 2017, Exeter's Jackie Gaughan won an individual national championship in the 5,000 meters. This latest title was the school's first national relay championship.

The runners broke records in New Hampshire and New England before traveling to Philadelphia and defeating some of the top 4x800 teams in the country.

"This championship is an incredible accomplishment for Alexis, Brianna, Izzie and Madie, and a moment the entire Exeter community can celebrate," Superintendent Christopher Andriski said. "Their dedication, teamwork and ability to perform at the highest level are a tremendous reflection of both themselves and the entirety of Exeter athletics."