PHILADELPHIA (April 27, 2019) – Howard University men's & women's relay squads competed in the final day of the 125^th annual Penn Relays in front of 48,195 spectators inside Franklin Field where Saturday's lineup featured several events between the USA vs. the World.
 
Among Saturday's star-studded slate was HU's 4x400 relay team of juniors Sydney Benson (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and Oluchi Ike (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and sophomores Jessika Gbai (Philadelphia) and Ozioma Scott (Georgetown, Guyana) taking third in the College Women's College Finals, clocking in at a season-best 3:38.53.
 
"What an amazing performance for our women's 4x4 relay [team] in today's finals," said Director of Track & Field David Oliver. "Running 3:38.53 is a performance that Howard hasn't seen in nearly 25 years. Also, they have found themselves currently amongst the top 35 teams in the entire country. [This] is impressive. We couldn't ask for more as coaches."
 
The women's relay squads are peaking at the right moment with the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Outdoor Championships just around the corner.
 
"[We're] leaving out of [the] Penn Relays with three of our women's teams finishing in the top three in their respective finals," Director Oliver continued. "They truly rose to the occasion. Hopefully, all goes well next weekend at MEACs, and we can see an even better performance."
 
Another notable team in action was the men's 4x800 squad consisting of senior Tariq Fullerton (Kingston, Jamaica), sophomore Anthony Gordon (Clinton, Md.) and freshmen Aariq Nixon (Baltimore) and Gavin Williams (Dover, Del.) where they placed 15^th overall, registering a 7:52.74 mark.
 
To view results from Penn Relays Day Three, please click here.
 
In the three-day event, 110,661 fans came to Franklin Field where Howard thrived under the big stage. For many current Bison, this was only the beginning with several returning next year.
 
"All of [this year's] contributors will be back next year," Director Oliver stated. "We hope to bring home one of those elusive Penn Relays wheels."
 
Additionally, Director Oliver thanked the alumni for their endless support throughout the weekend.
 
"It was great to catch up with a lot of our track alumni that came to support," Director Oliver concluded. "Their support is invaluable to us, [and] we're all standing on their shoulders. This was a really great weekend we had, [and] important going into the conference championships next week."
 
On May 2-4, Director Oliver and the Bison travel to Greensboro, N.C. for the 2019 MEAC Outdoor Championships, hosted by North Carolina A&T State.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.