PHILADELPHIA—The most historic track and field meet in America had no shortage of epic performances this weekend.

From superb finishes in collegiate races, to high school stars taking flight, to Olympians and professionals battling at the wire, we take a look at the top five moments from the 129th Penn Relays Carnival over three days at Franklin Field.

Washington’s Nathan Green Leads The Huskies To The Distance Double In the Championship of America DMR And 4xMile

In March, one of the NCAA’s coolest streaks snapped. It was during the NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach that the University of Washington men were unable to secure a record sixth-straight mile or 1,500 meter title defense.

The Huskies, however, were agonizingly close—in fact, they settled for second when senior Nathan Green, the 2023 winner of the NCAA outdoor 1,500 meters, was the runner-up.

While the performance was another reminder of Green’s consistency—the Idaho native has now made eight NCAA Championships over his four years with the program—it probably also left a sour taste in his mouth.

So maybe Green entered the Penn Relays this weekend at Franklin Field with something to prove.

He certainly left with the best possible result.

Anchoring both the Huskies’ Championship of America distance medley relay and the 4xmile relay, Green was cool, collected, and downright dominant.

The Washington senior hunted down the University of Oregon’s Rheinhardt Harrison and Texas A&M’s Cooper Cawthra in the DMR en route to a 3:55.15 finish over 1,600 meters to win in 9:25.22 on Friday.

A day later, he rallied from fourth to first as he slingshotted past NCAA 3K champion Ethan Strand over the final curve to secure another win in 16:24.61.

Quincy Wilson Splits 43.99 To Nearly Bring Bullis School To The First American Win In The Penn Relays Championship of America 4×400 Since 2007

Quincy Wilson’s performance in the Championship of America high school boys 4×400 final will be remembered for a long time.

In fact, it might exit as the single-best moment from the 2025 Penn Relays.

But the result was bittersweet: Wilson’s epic 43.99-second 400 meter split wasn’t enough to give the Bullis School boys the victory.

Instead, the Kingston College boys won for the fourth consecutive year, finishing the race in 3:05.93.

Bullis School’s herculean effort, meanwhile, was a new high school national record in 3:06.31, surpassing a national mark that had stood for 40 years when Hawthorne (CA) ran 3:07.40 in 1985. And that wasn’t a bad consolation.

There’s no doubt Wilson’s performance was simply remarkable. Finding himself in fourth-place on the final hand-off, the 17-year-old paced his way through the first curve and then unloaded on the backstretch, passing Excelsior (JAM) and Calabar (JAM) on his way to a second-place finish.

A year earlier, he had run the fastest high school split ever recorded at the Penn Relays in 44.37. On Friday, he shattered it.

With one more year to chase after a 4×400 win in the COA–an American team hasn’t won since 2007–Wilson will have one last shot to bring Bullis to history.

Robert Farken Holds Off Last Year’s NCAA Champ Shane Cohen As Both Go Under Penn Relays 800 Meter Record

Shane Cohen has a history with late-race theatrics.

In the NCAA 800 meter final in 2024, he chased down the field to win a national title. A few weeks later, at the U.S. Olympic Trials, he chased a series of fields down again and reached the U.S. final, but failed to qualify for the Olympic team.

On Saturday, it was the same story. Only Cohen was off by just a smidge.

Robert Farken, the three-time German champion and Olympian at 1,500 meters, held off the former University of Virginia standout by a hair, with the On Athletics Club athlete claiming a new Penn Relays record in 1:45.45. Cohen, meanwhile, went under the former mark in 1:45.76.

While Farken and Cohen weren’t really in the picture after the first lap—in fifth and seventh after 400 meters—their balanced work over the final lap proved to be decisive.

Cohen actually held the best line, negative-splitting over the second lap in 52.77. Farken held him off over the final straightaway with a split of 53.07.

The race was another personal best for Farken, while Cohen notched his best time over the 2025 season.

Virginia’s Margot Appleton Takes Cavaliers From Fifth To First To Win The Penn Relays Championship Of America DMR

No records were broken in the women’s distance medley relay on Friday.

Maybe just hearts.

In the final lap, Virginia’s Margot Appleton ate up Providence’s Kimberley May over the final meters to secure the Cavaliers win in 10:42.16, leaving the Friars with their second straight second-place finish in the event.

It was a big move and a stellar finish from Appleton, a 4:25.03 miler and school record-holder at the distance who managed to take the Hoos’ from fifth to first over the final 1,600 meter frame, passing Providence, Georgetown, Clemson and Penn State en route to the title.

The Hydel Girls Hold Off Bullis School To Finish Off The Meet With A New Penn Relays Record

One of the best traditions of the Penn Relays is its annual invitation to the top Jamaican high schools. You can see and hear that culture in the stands, from the high-pitched sounds of the vuvuzelas, to the long, drawn-out cheers from Jamaican fans. Outside the stadium, Caribbean vendors hoist and sell delicious meets from food trucks.

The fans travel in from everywhere: From the nearby communities over the tristate area of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, to the country of Jamaica itself. And it’s that tradition which has kept the Penn Relays alive and kicking for so many years.

On Saturday, a Jamaican high school closed the meet in spectacular fashion.

Never trailing, but sensing the Bullis School breathing down its neck, the Hydel girls of Jamaica claimed a new Penn Relays record in the girls Championship of America 4×400, winning in 3:30.42 as they ran away from the Maryland school by three seconds.

The victory was Hydel’s fourth straight and its sixth over the last seven seasons. Globally, that time is also the 35th-fastest of 2025.