Track: How North Jersey girls have performed at Penn Relays

The first time a North Jersey girls high school team appeared in the summaries at the Penn Relays was on April 27, 1978, the 84th running of the event, when the Ramsey High School team of Deidre Young, Kelly Collums, Karen Kobza and Doreen Kris won the third of eight girls high school mile relays run for the first time in the meet's history. The Rams time of 3:58.2 stood as the Penn Relays record until about four minutes later when Germantown, Pennsylvania ran 3:57.4 to win its heat. Later in the meet, the Rams took second in its heat of the 4-x-880 relay in 9:42.9. Both times are still among the top 50 times in Bergen County history and the school records set that day lasted until 2005 (4-x-400) and 2010 (4-x-800).

When the Penn Relays runs for the 128th time starting April 25, 2024, there will be 44 high school 4-x-400 relays for the girls and on Saturday, April 27, there will be 45 heats for the boys.

Below are four charts showing how often 58 North Jersey girls high school teams have appeared in the Penn Relays and how they've done in the four primary relays run at the famous meet. A separate set of charts looks at the 71 boys teams that have made an appearance since Englewood High School won a race in 1908. That was 24 years before the current Dwight Morrow High School opened. Girls could only run a 4-x-110 yard relay from 1966-1977.

Caveat: Only the top four five finishers in the 4-x-100 and 4-x-800 relays were listed until 1988. Until 1971 only the winning time or performance was published.

Girls High School teams by first, last and total appearances

Girls 4-x-100 Relay teams and results

No medals are awarded within the heats as teams qualify to a series of finals held the next day.

4-x-400 relays medal list and results

Each of the 40-plus heats, the centerpiece pf the three day carnival, is its own event with medals going to the top three places and a coveted Penn Relays min-wheel to the winning school. The races usually see more than 600 schools competing in "class" races which are roughly equally seeded with the better schools running later in the competition.

4-x-800 and distance medley relays medals and times

The most exclusive relay events at the Penn Relays are the two distance races, the 4-x-800 and distance medleys. In contrast to the 4-x-100 and 4-x-400, these are true invitationals. Only the top 15-18 distance medleys are invited of those that apply with a minimum standard of 12:35; only the top 65-75 4-x-800 relay teams that break 9:50 are invited. The top 12 4-x-800 teams advance to a final the next day.- For the last decade, a school must choose just one of these events to compete in.

Only 14 North Jersey schools have been fortunate to qualify in the 4-x-800 with Ridgewood, Westwood and IHA the only schools to appear five times or more.

Ridgewood has made 11 distance medley appearances. The four other North Jersey schools that have qualified have combined for nine appearances.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Track: How North Jersey girls have performed at Penn Relays