Bullis sweeps 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 for second year in a row in Philadelphia, along with repeating in 4x100 shuttle hurdles, in addition to securing victories in 1,000-meter Swedish and 800-meter sprint medley relays to conclude memorable year

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by John Nepolitan

PHILADELPHIA – More than an hour after the final race concluded Sunday at New Balance Nationals Outdoor at Franklin Field, Joe Lee, his coaching staff from Bullis School in Maryland, Bulldog student-athletes and their parents continued to congregate around the awards podium, and there was still a buzz surrounding what the weekend had just showcased.

They couldn’t be blamed for wanting to soak in every last minute of one of the most exceptional experiences at any high school track and field national championship meet, even if it meant the University of Pennsylvania Event Staff having to encourage the entire group on more than one occasion to begin making their way toward the exit gate.

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Even after junior Rosa Gergely of Blue Mountain High in Pennsylvania was presented with her national title in the girls javelin throw 75 minutes following the conclusion of the 4x400-meter relay – the final award of the four-day meet that featured 7,000-plus middle school and prep competitors – coach Lee was still trying to find the appropriate words to describe the dominance of the Bullis girls team.

But there were several that mattered most to Lee and his student-athletes.

Family. Team. Sacrifice. Selflessness. Togetherness. Sisterhood. Love.

Bullis has captured several national titles in the past decade, gracing podiums from Philadelphia to Boston to New York to Greensboro, N.C., and many places in between, including many of the same relay events the Bulldogs won Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

They have even previously achieved the impressive feat of securing six national championships in a single year, which occurred last season at New Balance Nationals, with four relay victories supporting individual wins by Myla Greene in the girls 400-meter hurdles and Aidan McDuffie in the boys 200 meters.

But never has a girls roster demonstrated the depth, versatility and competitive spirit that Bullis did in its return to Franklin Field, with Mirai Bernard, Kennedy Flynn, Sage Hinton, Kassidy Hopkins, Lauren Leath, Tatum Lynn, Jade Ofotan, Payton Payne, Morgan Rothwell, Sydney Sutton, Gabby White and Greene combining to win six relay titles, in addition to third- and fourth-place performances. 

Whether it was Montverde Academy from Florida, Union Catholic of New Jersey, Motor City Track Club from Michigan or any other lineup from around the country, Bullis took on all challengers regardless of distance and format, winning the girls 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 for the second year in a row, as well as the 800-meter sprint medley, 1,000-meter Swedish sprint medley and 4x100 shuttle hurdle relays, also repeating in the latter.

Bullis also looked the part each day, switching color schemes and making fashion statements with the same purpose, intent and attention to detail as each block start, relay exchange and hurdle drill.

It all came together for the Bulldogs to celebrate these results:

4x100 – (Bernard, Greene, Hinton and Sutton): 45.63

4x200 – (Bernard, Greene, Hinton and Sutton): 1:33.71

4x400 – (Bernard, Greene, Hinton and Sutton): 3:39.07; (Leath, Lynn, Rothwell and White): 3rd, 3:43.21

800 SMR – (Lynn, Ofotan, Payne and White): 1:42.60

1,000 Swedish SMR – (Flynn, Leath, Rothwell and White): 2:10.26

4x100 SHR – (Flynn, Greene, Hopkins and White): 55.97

In addition to the third-place finish in the 4x400, the only relay Bullis entered that it didn’t win was the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay, which Guilderland Track Club from New York rallied to take in 3:57.66 behind a 2:10.26 anchor from freshman Addison Vellekoop.

The Bulldogs’ quartet of Leath, Lynn, Ofotan and Rothwell finished fourth in 4:03.69.

Although it wasn’t the emphasis of the Bullis schedule in Philadelphia, the Bulldogs also produced several All-America individual performances as well.

Sutton placed second in the 400 final in 53.88 and Hinton was fifth in 54.68.

Greene secured second in the 100 hurdles championship in 13.63 and Flynn placed seventh in 13.90.

Ofotan finished fifth in the 100 in 11.65.

And perhaps the most memorable individual performance came Friday from Lynn in the Rising Stars 400 hurdles, as she overcame an early fall to regroup and win her section in 1:07.21, with the video clip already viewed more than 35,000 times on YouTube.

Despite Bullis not winning a boys individual or relay title during the meet, freshman Quincy Wilson continued to demonstrate his development with a lifetime-best 45.99 in the 400 final, taking second to U.S. prep leader Tavon Underwood of Mead High in Colorado, representing Real Training.

As much as he and the rest of the Bulldogs were inspired by Lynn’s resilience and perseverance in the 400 hurdles, Lee also applauded the efforts of freshman Chris Tangelo, who made his high school debut in the 4x400, stepping up for injured sophomore teammate Ethan Long to help Bullis take third in the final section and 28th overall in 3:21.82.

Lee knows it won’t be long until the Bullis boys return to the top of national podiums, especially with a promising young star like Wilson leading the way.

And even though the Bulldogs are graduating Bernard, Greene, Hinton, Leath and Ofotan, they are still expected to return seven athletes who contributed to at least one national championship in Philadelphia.

Following the graduation last year of elite thrower Trinity Franklin, along with Mikayla McFarland and Ashley Thomas, there were some skeptics in the track and field community – including some of Lee’s coaching peers and friends – who were uncertain about how Bullis would compensate for their production, especially with several underclassmen on the roster.

They, and the rest of the country, received strong confirmation Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Franklin Field that Bullis remains built for the long run, and the Bulldogs will do so with every baton handoff precisely executed, each hurdle successfully cleared and one sprint race at a time.

Bullis concluded the year as the No. 2 all-time U.S. high school program in the 4x200 (1:33.71), No. 4 in the 4x400 (3:36.25), No. 5 in the 4x100 (44.67) and No. 12 in the 800 sprint medley (1:42.60) with the performances throughout the season from its dynamic dozen, after already ascending to No. 2 in prep history in the 4x100 shuttle hurdles with a 54.95 effort in 2018.

And while Lee and the Bulldogs have tremendous respect for the legacies of elite U.S. high school programs like DeSoto of Texas, St. Thomas Aquinas from Florida, California dynasty Long Beach Poly and Western Branch in Virginia, along with contemporary peers Union Catholic, Oak Park and Montverde Academy, New Balance Nationals Outdoor was a reminder to every student-athlete, coach, spectator and Event Staff member in attendance at Franklin Field, the only history Bullis continues to chase is its own.