"It's just really nice to come back after freshman year," Wheating said. "Freshman year was wide-eyed, everything was tough. It was a pretty poor showing. So to come back now and do this with a great group of guys, it's a great feeling."
Oregon shared the spotlight on a sunny, pleasant day with the Tennessee women, who captured their second win of the weekend. The Vols, with NCAA champion Phoebe Wright outlasting Villanova's Sheila Reid in a gutty anchor leg, captured the 4x1,500.
Then there were the outstanding sprint relay teams of Texas A&M, which established a meet and collegiate record in the 4x100-yard shuttle hurdle relay in 52.50 seconds and also won the 4x100-meter relay in 43.09. Gabby Mayo ran second leg on the hurdles team and anchor on the 4x100.
LaTavia Thomas, a graduate of West Catholic High, became the first athlete in Penn Relays history to anchor the same winning team for four straight years, leading Louisiana State to victory in the sprint medley relay in 3:48.36. The Tigers also won the men's sprint medley.
It was an exciting day for the Ducks, who run in front of knowledgeable crowds at Eugene's famed Hayward Field in Oregon, but really appreciated the crowds that cheered them on at Penn.
"This is my first time here; I'm pretty wide-eyed," Fleet said. "The crowd is awesome. . . . It's something completely different [from Eugene]. Everyone is pretty crazy. They don't necessarily care who you run for or anything. They just cheer. They like good races. It was loud, and it was fun."
Barlow, who ran the 400 leg, also was a freshman on Oregon's last trip to the carnival.
