PHILADELPHIA -- The Villanova men avenged last year's narrow loss and joined the school's women's team Saturday in sweeping the college 4 x 800-meter races at the 97th Penn Relays.
Villanova, which was edged by four-tenths of one second by Georgetown in 1990, prevailed over the Hoyas this year as Brad Sumner outlasted Ethan Frey on the final leg to give the Wildcats a winning time of seven minutes, 15.55 seconds. Georgetown was second in 7:15.73.
The Villanova women, who had a nine-race Penn Relays' winning streak broken by Providence Friday, posted an easy victory over Georgetown and Florida with a time of 8:29.52.
A Santa Monica Track Club team of Joe DeLoach, Leroy Burrell, Carl Lewis and Floyd Heard set a new Penn Relays record and ran the second- fastest 4 x 200-meter relay in history as they took the men's Olympic development race in 1:19.45.
Santa Monica holds the world record of 1:19.38, set in 1989, and the Penn Relays' mark of 1:20.20 was set by Texas Christian in 1986.
The team was not as fortunate in the 4 x 100-meter race, however, as Mark Witherspoon, running the anchor leg, dropped the baton on a handoff from Lewis.
'This is a good day for the program,' said Villanova coach Marty Stern, who has coached the women since 1984 and took over the men's program last fall. 'The women kept winning and the men started a new streak. For me, personally, there was no way to have a better afternoon. '
The Villanova women have won 10 relay races since 1988 at Penn, while the men, who were a power from 1955 until 1984, had won only twice since then. Before Saturday.
'I can't stress how much this means,' Sumner said. 'Ever since a year ago, we've been thinking about this every day at practice. And ever since the indoor NCAA championships (when Villanova finished third behind Georgetown and Arkansas), we've been saying there would be nobody at the Penn Relays who wanted to win more than us.'
The Florida Clippers' team of Boris Goins, Tony Dees, Clarence Daniel and Clifton Campbell won in a time of 39.22 seconds. Santa Monica has been seeking to break the world record of 37.79 seconds, set by France last September, and ran a 38.33 last Saturday.
In other relay races:
-- Georgetown ended Arkansas' six-year hold on the college men's 4 x 1,500-meter relay with an easy victory in 14:53.34, a new American record for a non-national team and the best time for an all-American collegiate squad.
'It was great to come back after (Friday's) race,' said Trautmann, who was edged by Arkansas' Eric Henry at the finish of the distance medley relay. 'I tried to put (Friday) out of my mind. I felt fresh and you don't have to get pumped up for the Penn Relays.'
Kentucky was second in 15:09.06 and Arkansas faded to fifth in 15:13. 91.
-- Texas Christian set a new Penn Relays record when it won the college men's 4 x 100 in 38.80 seconds, topping the old mark of 39.11 set by Texas Christian in 1986. It was the fourth time in six years that the Horned Frogs won the event.
-- Washington State won the college men's sprint medley in 3:15.75.
-- Alabama took the college men's 4 x 200-meter relay in 1:21.95.
-- LSU set a new Penn Relays record as it won the college women's 4 x 200-meter relay in 1:32.2. The old mark of 1:33.03 was set by Arizona State in 1988.
-- Auburn won the college men's 4 x 400-meter relay in 3:03.78 when St. Augustine's, which ran a 3:03.07, was disqualified because its second runner cut in too early and impeded another runner.
-- Florida won the college women's 4 x 400 in 3:30.78.
In individual events:
-- Peter Rono of Mt. St. Mary's won the men's mile in 3:58.31 and Gina Procaccio of the Salli Mae Track Club, defended her victory in the women's Olympic development mile in 4:40.26.
-- onathan Drummond of Texas Christian won the invitational college men's 100-meter dash in 10.23 seconds while Notre Dame's Raghib 'Rocket' Ismail finished last in 10.61.
-- Houston's Sam Jefferson won the men's college 100-meter dash in 10. 43 seconds and LSU's Esther Jones took the women's event in 11.33 seconds.
-- Jerry Romey of James Madison won the college men's 110-meter hurdles in 13.74 seconds, Mary Cobb of LSU won the college women's 100- meter hurdles in 13.06 seconds and Raymond Steward of Mazda Track Club, took the men's Olympic development 110-meter hurdles in 10.25 seconds.
