Phil Anastasia: Tennesse's freshman jewel at Penn Relays

The crowd, the stage and the stakes were something new for Chanelle Price.

The company was something old: She was alone.

"I'm used to being out by myself," Price said. "I've been doing it for years."

Splendid isolation marked most of Price's races during her career at Easton (Pa.) Area High School. She was a three-time Class AAA state champion, and the Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.

But now she's at Tennessee. And this was the Penn Relays. And her team was going for a rare sweep of the distance events. And there were more than 50,000 spectators yesterday at Franklin Field.

But Price took the baton from Kimarra McDonald and ran away from the field, helping Tennessee to a national-record time of 8 minutes, 17.91 seconds as the Volunteers capped a dominating weekend with a dominating victory in the 4x800 relay.

"I think it's going to take some time to sink in," Price said. "It's like something you dream about."

Like the weather, Price and the Volunteers kept getting better all weekend.

She ran an 800-meter split of 2:04.5 as Tennessee won the distance medley relay Thursday. She led off the victorious 4x1,500 relay with a split of 4:19.5 on Friday.

Yesterday was a flashback to the days when Price established herself as one of the best scholastic middle-distance runners in recent U.S. track and field history. She ran a blistering split of 2:02.45 - the best in the race - in ending the competitive portion of the relay and setting the stage for the Volunteers' run for the record.

"I wanted Chanelle to break it open," Tennessee coach J.J. Clark said. "I said, 'Just go.' This way, if a record opportunity arose, we would be free of all the traffic."

The Penn Relays marked a bit of a homecoming for Price. During some of her junior season and all of her senior season at Easton, she trained in Philadelphia, making the three-hour round-trip on a near-daily basis.

"My mom would drive, and I would do homework in the backseat," Price said.

Clark said Price's maturity - as much as her talent - has enabled her to make an immediate impact at the college level.

"She's not a normal freshman," Clark said after Tennessee became the first women's team to win all three distance relays since North Carolina in 2003. "She wasn't a normal high school runner. Usually, it takes a year or two years. But she's so mature."

Price was the only freshman on the Tennessee relays. Phoebe Wright and Sarah Bowman are seniors. Wright is a junior. Rolanda Bell, who ran a leg on the 4x1,500, is a senior.

Price won't be 19 until Aug. 22. But her older teammates marvel at her poise.

"Her maturity is just amazing," Bowman said.

Still, there are times when Price's age is as apparent as her talent.

"I want to do the 4x400," she said during the news conference after the Volunteers finished their sweep of the distance relays.

Her coach shook his head and smiled.

"It's a wrap," Clark said.