June 28, 2024 –
There were five athletes with local connections competing on Day Six. There were no finals, but Shane Cohen form Lower Moreland High School and Chloe Timberg of Central Bucks West did get through and will have an opportunity to be on the Olympic team in their events. Let’s look at the Philly details from the trials on Friday,
Men’s 400m Hurdles
In the semifinal round in this event Ryan Matulonis of the University of Pennsylvania ran in Heat One and covered the distance in :51.30 to place eighth in his section. There are three heats where the top two and next three fastest times in the event would run in the final. Matulonis will not move on to the final. He started in lane four. He would be in third place after Hurdle 3, but in sixth place after Hurdle 9, before fading to eighth. The Quakers hurdler placed 20th overall in the semifinal round. Rai Benjamin ran the fastest semifinal time in :47.97.
Local Flavor
Two Philly area runners took to the starting line in the Men’s 800m semifinal round. Darius Smallwood from Penn State and Pottstown ran in Heat 1, and Shane Cohen of Virginia and Lower Moreland High School was in Heat 3. Cohen ran a personal best time of 1:44.92. His second split of :52.90 brought him from sixth place to third in the heat, and that finishing kick earned him one of the places in the final. The top two finishers in each event and the next three fastest times would move on. Cohen will have a chance to make the Olympic team on Sunday. Smallwood finished seventh in his heat turning in a time of 1:48.82. He was the leader after one lap running a :51.98 split. But his time in the second 400m was 56.85. Hobbs Kessler had the best overall time in the semifinal round crossing the finish line in 1:43.71. Cohen places 6th in the round while Smallwood ranks 22nd.
Chloe Timberg from Rutgers and Central Bucks West High School advances to the final in the Women’s Pole Vault clearing the bar at 4.50m. Timberg is the NCAA Champion. Defending Olympic Champion Katie Moon also will be in the event final on Sunday.
Women’s 1500m
Angel Piccirillo ran in the first heat of the semifinal round. The Villanova alum finished eighth running a 4:10.39. Piccirillo started in the back of the pack and moved up no better than eighth place. Her splits were consistent; 1:06.52, 1:06.62, 1:06.03, and :51.23 in the last 300m to place 20th overall. The top five in each heat and the next two fastest runners would advance to the finals. The former Wildcat could not advance on time. Her trials meet has come to an end. Nikki Hiltz posted the semifinal time of 4:01.40.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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