North Penn's Distance Medley Team Has Historic Night At Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The boys from North Penn High School made track history at the storied Penn Relays in Philadelphia last week, even though their names didn't quite make it into the record books.

The squad of Musa Herzi, Morgen Brown, Matthew Connelly, and Justin Landis placed second overall in the distance medley relay Championship of America event. Their time of 9:56.49 is faster than any high school team had ever run at the Penn Relays, the oldest track meet in the world, and it's also faster than any team from Pennsylvania had ever run, before Friday night.

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However, the boys from Mifflin High School in central Pennsylvania were just a little bit better, edging North Penn and taking home the new meet record and Pennsylvania state record.

The DMR is one of the most unique relays in track, featuring long sprints and middle distance legs of four different distances. It goes 1200, 400, 800, 1600.

The race was tense, with numerous lead changes. Herzi put North Penn in second place off the start with a 3:02.2 leg, averaging about 60.7 seconds per lap.

Brown's 49.3 400 kept the team in second. Connelly ripped a 1:55 800 on leg three, and North Penn was one of four teams within just a second of each other heading into the final handoff.

Landis took off in a pack of four, with Mifflin, Lower Merion, and Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey). He muscled off the latter two teams en route to a 4:09.24 split, snapping both the old Pennsylvania state record and the Penn Relays meet record but falling just shy of Mifflin.

It's the best finish for North Penn at the Penn Relays since 2002, when the boys won the distance medley in 10:17.