Boys 4x8 Team Looks to Qualify For Penn Relays

The Cranford boys' track team is looking to step out of the shadow and into the limelight, as they continue to improve on the strength of their 4 x 8 team.

After a strong showing in last Saturday's Summit Relays, confidence is running high throughout the team as the 4 x 8 looks to qualify for the prestigious Penn Relays on April 26.

"The boys had a really successful showing on Saturday," said Coach Schiano. "It was our first Invitational of the season. It gave the kids a lot of confidence to show them that their work has been paying off. The boys distance medley relay finished fourth, a lot of PR's in that race. Bit races by Jeff Sun, Bill Haussner, Tyler Ainge, George El-Khoury, so they had a really good race."

"The Summit Relays was a solid day for us," said Jeff Sun. "We're ahead of where we were last year. It's much better. We scored a lot of points, in events we usually don't. We scored points in the 400 hurdles, Distance Medley Relay (DMR), the 4 x 8 and pole vault."

"At the Summit Relays, we had a DMR team, and we were in first place for much of the race, which is really unusual for us" said Billy Haussner. "We really don't have a lot of success like that. It was a big change. We're getting a lot better. It's really good so far."

"The strongest part of the team is mid-distance," said Sun. "We've been showing really strong lately. But the sprinters have also been surprising us.  They're usually not the strongest part of the team, but they've been scoring some points for us."

This Saturday is the Mountain Valley Conference Memorial Meet and the 4 x 8 team is looking at their final chance to qualify for the Penn Relays.

"We have to hit a time of 8:15 to qualify," said Sun. "It'll be hard, but I think we can do it. We've been training really hard and doing a lot of speed work. We're trying to run fast for Saturday. We're also getting Will Smith back. He took winter off for injury and he's coming back. He's one of our best runners."

"Penn Relays is the biggest meet in the country," said junior Dan Cleary. "The 4 x 8 is much harder to get into than any of the other races that you can run."

"Recently, we've always had a good group of 800 runners," said Haussner. "We've always wanted to try and go to Penn Relays and this is our last shot to be able to do it. We definitely can do it. We need to all hit our times. Last season, we ran 8:26, but we didn't have as strong runners then. We're a lot better this year."

I think if we qualify for the Penn Relays, it shows that we're in really good shape for the rest of the year," said Paul Cassaro. From my point of view, I've never had an opportunity like this, so if I can help us get there, I'll feel really proud. The team will look great."

The 4 x 8 team is looking forward to having their chance at making history.

"Penn Relays has been a goal of mine since my sophomore year, trying to get a team there," said Sun. "I think this team has the best chance."

"If we were to make the Penn Relays, it means we came full circle," said Haussner. "We're finally a really good team in mid-distance events, which is what we've always wanted to be."