The Penn Relays are known as the world’s biggest track and field carnival, and several athletes from Diocese of Trenton schools were major performers in the show.

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In what should be no surprise to those who follow New Jersey cross country, the Christian Brothers Academy quartet finished third out of 16 teams with a time of 10:12.78 in the Boys’ Distance Medley Championship of America April 23 at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field.

Drake Anzano started off the Lincroft school’s relay with a 3:08 in the 1,200 meters, Mike Zupko ran a 48.55 in the 400, Christian McLaughlin clocked a 1:59.71 in the 800 and Blaise Ferro ran the anchor mile in 4:15.60. Ferro was the Colts’ top finisher when CBA won the Meet of Champions in the fall.

And while CBA has long maintained a standard of excellence in distance, a pleasant surprise occurred concerning the female discus throwers from Donovan Catholic, Toms River. 

Sophomore Alyssa Wilson not only took third overall out of 18 finalists in the discus, but she was the top American finisher with a throw of 149-feet, 2-inches. Her mark came on Wilson’s final throw and was a personal best by two feet.  Wilson’s teammate, senior Jade Cunningham, finished seventh overall with a throw of 136-2.

“They were seeded sixth and 20th and they finished third and seventh,” Griffins’ coach Ken Oliver noted. “To have two girls on the same team make the finals in one event at Penn Relays is a little unusual. Especially for our school, we haven’t had that before. It was very exciting, and both performed very well.”

The effort was made even more impressive considering it was the first Penn Relays trip for both athletes. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pageantry, let alone the talent.

“That’s tough, going for the first time,” Oliver said. “It’s such a big event. There’s so much pressure when you go there. You’re really performing against some of best athletes in the country, even internationally.”

And it took international competition to defeat Wilson, as the only two to finish ahead of her were Paul-Ann Gayle (170-6) and Shanice Love (165-6), both from Jamaica.  As the top American in her event, Wilson became the first girl in school history to receive a coveted Penn Relays watch.

 She actually trailed Zakiya Rashid of Suffolk, Va., entering her last throw. Rashid had a mark of 143-10 but Wilson crushed that on her final attempt.

Wilson has been throwing since middle school, when she balanced basketball with track and field. She has since given up basketball to focus on throwing, and broke through in a big way last year as one of the state’s top freshmen in her events. Wilson threw the shot 43 feet and the discus 133 feet as a ninth grader.

“This year, she had great indoor season in the shot, and in outdoor season she is definitely the best discus thrower in state for all grades,” Oliver said. “And I believe right now she’s also the No. 1 sophomore in the discus in the nation.” 

Cunningham is in her first year at Donovan Catholic after transferring from Central Regional High School in Bayville. She and Wilson have worked extensively with throwing coach Chad Dougherty.

“Both of Jade’s sisters went to Donovan and she wanted to finish up in Catholic school,” Oliver said. “She’s really done well here, and I think it’s about competing against each other. The fact she’s been training with Alyssa and they have good throwing coach has made Jade better than she has been.

“They’re motivated to beat each other and they’re teammates, so they’re doing it the right way. It’s a friendly competition, it helps both out there when they’re training together. It’s definitely motivation. Neither one wants to lose to the other, even though they’re friends. Good competitors don’t like to lose, no matter who it’s against.”

They will continue to compete in college, as Cunningham recently signed a Letter of Intent with Monmouth, while Wilson is drawing interest from all over the country, including academic and track and field powerhouse Stanford.