CBA wins DMR Championship, locals compete at Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA- It was a beautiful day at the 129th running of the Penn Relays; many Middletown and local Monmouth County athletes competed at the prestigious championship meet.

The highlight of the meet this year was Christian Brothers Academy becoming the back-to-back champions in the Championship of America Distance Medley Relay.

Holmdel-native Ryan Schmitt started the race in the 1200m, running a 3:03. The race was not a certain victory for the Colts.

During the 400m, Ethan Fianko almost tripped during his lap, but still ended up under 50 seconds to pass the baton to Wyatt Falkowski in the 800m.

CBA then took the lead from previously third place at the 8:38 mark, Joe Barrett began to pull away from the crowd.

With 150 meters to go in the race, he started to kick. The CBA senior not only won the race; but broke ten minutes at 9:59.17.

It was an emotional victory for the Colts for two reasons- Joe Barrett said in an interview he had setbacks since Indoor Track, but also the tragic passing of former teammate Alex Kemp in January.

“We thought of him during the race,” Barrett said to Jim Lambert, of NJ Milesplit. Kemp graduated CBA in 2024 and was a freshman at Williams College when he tragically passed away from a skiing accident earlier this year.

“Ever since Nike Cross Country Nationals last year, today was the main goal we wanted to achieve,” Schmitt said to the press.

The team’s back to back win is the first since 2000 when St. Malachy’s High School of Belfast, Ireland repeated in the event.

On Saturday, the Rumson Fair Haven Women’s 4x800 team (consisting of Isabella Rodriguez, Resse Mallone, Cassidy Stypul, Clemmie Lilley) in the Championship of America had a strong team effort earning 5th place overall.

The previous day, the Bulldogs had one of the best qualifying performances to get into the finals.

In the 4x100, the Middletown North varsity boys earned 48th place out of 101th in the high school championships. The team consisted of Jovonni Fernandez, Anthony Christian, Brennan Cross and Matthew Belenko.

The Penn Relays were also an opportunity for older athletes to compete again in the Masters events:

Returning back into running from the previously Iona College, Colts Neck native Jordan Brannan ran 14:40 in the Open 5k.

For the Shore Atlantic Club, Diane Essilfie won the 40+100m dash in 13.11.

In the 60s men’s category, for the 4x400, Shore AC’s (team of Chamberlain, Hughes, Lee, and Wallack) earned 1st place in a time of 4:17.

For the men +70s, 4x4 team (Lapp, Gillespie, Nolan, and Rossiter) earned 2nd place nationally, clocking in 5:20 for Shore Atlantic Club.

Other highlights include Toms River North’s 4x400 breaking the Shore Conference record in 3:13.16 and Monmouth University’s Dalton Yeust winning the College championship Pole Vault at a height of 5.10m

In the Olympic Development Racewalk, Ryan Allen race walked in the 5k event for fourth place.

The Penn Relays Carnival is the oldest active track and field meet in the United States.