Local athletes earn Penn Relays invites

Kathryn Campbell was suprised when her name came up as an invited athlete for Penn Relays on Monday night. Campbell, a Parsippany junior, hadn’t even known the list was coming out — and that had kept her from being nervous about making the cut.

Campbell had reached the Penn Relays cutoff for javelin, but only 20 boys and 20 girls are invited. Montville junior Leah Wis got the news while out shopping. She hung up the phone with her father, Bob Wis, and started jumping up and down and screaming.

“I’ve been looking forward to this a lot,” said Wis, a future heptathlete who was part of the Mustangs’ 4x100 at Penn Relays last spring. “Freshman year, I might have had a mark that was good enough, and we tried to put it in, but I didn’t get accepted. The second I didn’t get accepted, my heart was set on getting in. It was a goal. Last year, when I didn’t get accepted again, it drove me to throw something good enough that would get me accepted this time.”

Morristown-Beard senior Halia Rosemond will return to the Penn Relays discus for the second year in a row. Whippany Park junior Nickolette Dunbar is the No. 1 seed in the shot put.

High Point junior Joe Dragon will represent Sussex County in the mile. Delbarton junior Peter Chan has qualified in the pole vault in his first outdoor season. Pope John senior vaulter Katlyn Rymarzow will make her third trip to Penn Relays.

Entries for the 4x800 and distance medley relay are due on Sunday, with the field to be announced on Monday.

The largest track and field carnival in the United States, Penn Relays will be held on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, April 23, 24 and 25. High school girls events take center stage on Thursday, with high school boys on Friday.

“I’m really excited. It’s a good surprise,” Campbell said. “It’s going to be really tough competition.”