Older athletes guide younger teammates as New Jersey track and field team prepares for Penn Relays in Philadelphia
Athletes around the country are getting ready to come to Philadelphia to compete in the 129th Penn Relays, which some have called the Super Bowl of track and field.
The dominant Winslow Township High School girls track team, which won the indoor New Jersey South Group 3 title this year, has a mix of athletes who have never been at the event, guided by the veteran upperclassmen.
"Since I'm an upper dog now, I have to put my team in a bigger position, and make sure the underclassmen feel safe and secure and not nervous to run," junior Olivia Okaro said. Okaro is competing in the 4x100-meter relay.
"I'm very excited to run," said freshman Jasmine Jackson, who is on the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams. "I've been going to Penn Relays to watch since I was very small."
The "upper dogs" remember the nerves.
"It was really nerve-wracking because I never was on such a big stage," said senior Ava Millner, who's running the 4x800-meter relay.
They also remember the joy.
"When I got on the line, everything just went away," Millner said.
Shawnnika Brown, Winslow Township girls track and field coach, has coached in the school district for more than two decades and is the 2025 NJ.com girls indoor track Coach of the Year.
"We're hoping the 4x8 … [is] in the 9:15 range. [In the] 4x4, the hope is to make Championship of America," she said.
The Penn Relays Carnival not only puts these young athletes in front of college coaches and scouts, but it also helps them develop new friendships along the way.
"I want to go out there, have fun, continue to make friends and just work on myself," senior discus thrower Brook-Lynn Roberts said. "I don't want to overthink. I just want to go in there and throw and be proud of myself regardless of the outcome."
The Penn Relays are at Franklin Field in University City, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
