Burlington Township junior Solomon Wesley-Passewe, junior Gemaus Sackie, senior Yeator Tappia and junior Quayd Hendryx ran 41.36 and advanced to the 400-Meter Relay Championship final Sunday at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field.
Only the eight-fastest of 94 teams that competed in 14 heats advanced to the final, but the Falcons won the 3rd heat running unpressed and then hung on for 11 more races to watch their time hold up as a qualifier.
All teams running 41.48 or faster advanced. Township’s 41.36 was 6th-fastest but only 13-100ths of a second out of the top three.
Township set a state record of 40.75 at the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken earlier this month.
Bergen Catholic of Oradell also qualified for the final with the 2nd-fastest overall qualifying time, a 40.92 in in the 4th heat. That’s tied for 2nd-fastest in state history with 2003 Winslow Township.
The final is scheduled for 1:28 p.m. Sunday
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 