Rancocas Valley’s sophomore Jameer Bellamy, sophomore Xavier Bancroft, junior David Smith and sophomore Julian Coppage-Seepersand ran the fastest 400-meter relay of all New Jersey schools at the Penn Relays Friday and qualified for the Northeast Championship Race on Saturday.
R.V. ran 42.38, the 15th-fastest time of about 500 high schools that raced at Franklin Field. Of the 14 schools that ran faster than the Red Devils, eight were from Jamaica, three from Maryland and one each from Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
They missed qualifying for the Championship of America race by just 54-100ths of a second.
The time is fastest in New Jersey this year. R.V.’s school record is 41.99 with its win at the 2021 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield.
Rancocas Valley will race in the Northeast Championship race at 4:25 p.m. Saturday. They’re the No. 2 seed behind Coatesville of Chester County, which ran 41.88
Williamstown [43.29], Willingboro [43.32], Glassboro [43.37], Deptford [43.46], Timber Creek [43.48], Winslow Township [43.48], Pennsauken [43.78]. Millville [43.81] and Sterling [43.91] also ran sub-44.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 