PHILADELPHIA – Their heads shook in disbelief and their eyes gave off a lost feeling. It was all Cardozo and coach Gail Emmanuel were able to do after a disappointing 4 x 400 relay performance. Answers were not readily available.
“We don’t even know,” lead leg Lateisha Philson said.
The Judges sparkled in the trials and posted a time of 3:42.73, the fastest in the country this season, to earn a return trip to the Penn Relays Championship of America final. But a repeat or better performance was not to be as each leg didn’t run close to what it did a day ago.
Cardozo, which was third last season, saw its team of Philson, Sabrina Southerland, Chamique Francis and Claudia Francis place sixth in a time of 3:50.61 Friday night during the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Medgar Evers squad of Nyanka Joseph, Sandrae Farqharson, Shakele Seaton and Kim Campbell placed seventh in 3:55.62 and Vere Technical (Jamaica) won the event with a time of 3:37.79.
“It’s all about a mindset of getting in a championship mode of performance,” Emmanuel said. “You have to forget about yesterday. … The attitude has to be championship attitude. It just wasn’t there.”
All things appeared to be going well early as Philson (57.9) fought her way into a tie for third as she passed the baton to Southerland (58.8). But before the sophomore, who Emmanuel said did not run up to her potential, could finish the first turn she was last. That left to much ground for Chamique Francis (57.4) and Claudia Francis (56.5) to make up. Both also ran well over what they did on Thursday.
“I really don’t know what happened,” said Chamique Francis, whose hamstrings acted up again after the race.
The Judges may have put too much stock in what it did the day before, surprising themselves after being concerned about nagging injuries to Chamique Francis and Philson coming into the meet. The Judges ran the second fastest time coming into the final, but a few of the other elite teams used more than one alternate in the trials. Claudia Francis, Chamique Francis and Southerland all also ran in the distance medley relay late Thursday. Ugonna Okpala took Southlands place in the 4 x 400 trails.
“It was a risk,” Claudia Francis said. “They had alternates to run. They didn’t all run in the trials.”
Despite its poor showing, Medgar Ever, which ran 3:45.63 in the trials, was just happy to get a chance to win in the final considering the circumstances. It competed without star Kadecia Baird, who was in Guyana after a death in the family, and did not get to run in the final a year ago because Baird was a late scratch.
“It was more like practice for upcoming big meets because every race helps you build,” Moise-Joseph said. “This one reminds us that we are still not perfect.”
Cardozo feels the same with the PSAL city championship meet and nationals still on the horizon. It feels it needs to be better prepared mentally in the big spot and the disappointing effort just illuminated that even more.
“We are a championship team,” Emmanuel said. “That’s still in my mind. We just have to work around this and move on.”