Washington’s men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively, at Franklin Field during the second day of the Penn Relays, according to an announcement on Apr. 24. Both teams were competitive throughout their races but narrowly missed higher placements.
The event is significant as it brings together top collegiate track programs from across the country to compete in a historic setting. The performances by Washington’s relay squads highlight their competitiveness against strong national fields.
In the women’s distance medley relay, Washington posted a time of 10:49.27, finishing just four-tenths of a second behind third place. Mia Cochran started with a split of 3:16.93 for the first 1,200 meters before handing off to Chloe Symon, who ran her leg in 55.39 seconds for 400 meters. Jenica Swartz then completed the fastest 800-meter split for her team in 2:03.61, moving them up to fourth position before Chloe Foerster anchored with a final split of 4:33.35 over the last mile.
The men’s team followed with Tyler Bilyard running an opening split of 2:52.14 for the first leg (1,200 meters). Alex Rhodes recorded the fastest individual split among all competitors on his leg with a time of 44.78 seconds for the next segment (400 meters), while Martin Barco contributed another fast performance on his portion (800 meters) in 1:45.29. The anchor leg saw Reuben Reina running third around the final turn but ultimately finishing sixth as several teams closed together on the home stretch; Washington’s final time was recorded at 9:34.06—just two seconds behind first place.
Saturday will see three more relay events featuring Huskies athletes starting at 9:40 a.m., including both men’s and women’s teams competing in longer relays.
These results show that both Washington squads remain competitive among elite collegiate programs as they look ahead to additional events during this year’s Penn Relays.
