Local Senior Freezes, Then Catches Fire

Mountain View's Olamigoke Places 2nd in Triple Jump

PHILADELPHIA, April 26 -- Olu Olamigoke had come to the Penn Relays to hurl his body as far as it could go. But halfway through the triple jump competition, he was terrified to move at all.

While meet officials were determining which athletes had qualified for the final, Olamigoke stood motionless in the infield. Up to that point, the Mountain View High School senior hadn't performed up to his own standards and was half expecting to hear that he didn't make the cut.

So when he learned that he was the last competitor into the final, a relieved Olamigoke breathed a deep sigh. Then he managed to put the sub-par first-round jumps behind him and placed second overall with 48 feet 2 1/2 inches, best of anyone from the Washington area.

"I knew if I could make [the final] I could do some damage," said Olamigoke, who was an All-Met this winter.

Olamigoke leaped 46-4.75 on his first attempt, a fine mark for area dual meets and invitationals, and his next two were no better. But he performed several drills before the final started that loosened his legs and helped him focus on proper technique.

With a fresh start, he uncorked the 48-2 1/2 on his first try, bringing him from eighth place to first. But the next jumper, Albert Johnson of Corning (N.Y.) Area High, leaped the winning distance of 49- 3/4 .

Mountain View, which opened in Stafford in 2006, was making its first appearance at the Penn Relays, and Olamigoke did what he could to make it a memorable debut. He also ran on the Wildcats' 4x400 relay team that finished fifth in its heat in 3 minutes 28.29 seconds, a team-best by two seconds.

"You don't realize how much noise there is unless you're here," Olamigoke said of the Franklin Field crowd of 49,831, the second largest in the Penn Relays' 114-year history. "Whether it was meant for me or not, it still gave me energy."

A Marylander also enjoyed success in individual competition. Just a month after suffering minor injuries in a car accident -- the 1999 Ford Taurus he was driving hydroplaned in the rain, flipped three times and landed upside down -- North Point junior Tristan Benton tied for fourth in the high jump with 6-7.75.

Westlake placed fourth in the boys' 4x100 Championship of America. Greg Walker, Devon Smith, Jesse Mitchell and Kenard Harris brought the baton around the track in an area-leading 41.38 seconds. Jamaica's Calabar, Camperdown and St. George's went 1-2-3.

After running the third-fastest qualifying time, Meade finished third in an exciting boys' 4x400 Championship of America. Anya Uzoh, Dahmar Smiles, Matthew Brinkley and Justin Murdock finished in 3:17.11 behind winner St. Jago of Jamaica and Bethel (Va.).

In the prelims five hours earlier, when the air was much warmer, Meade clocked 3:12.81, the nation's second-fastest time this spring.

On the girls' side, Eleanor Roosevelt senior All-Met Tasha Stanley was named the high school athlete of the meet for relay events. She was presented with a one-foot plaque for helping the Raiders win their second straight 4x400 championship and finish second in the 4x800 championship (in which they set an American high school record) Friday. Stanley also won the award last year and became the third athlete to win twice in the meet's history.