AUTHOR

Ben Greenleaf

In late April, five Cambridge athletes travelled to Philadelphia to compete at the Penn Relays, joining colleagues from Oxford under the joint Achilles banner. The squad contested the College Men's Eastern 4x400m at Franklin Field, racing twice over the weekend in front of one of the largest crowds in collegiate athletics.

The Cambridge contingent comprised Jack Lipman (Emmanuel), James McCulloch (Peterhouse), Rhys Gibbs (Fitzwilliam), Sol Inglis (Downing), and me, Ben Greenleaf (Fitzwilliam). The party was managed and coached by Bridget Wheeler, Dillon Rinauro, and Lynn Davis, the latter herself a Penn alumna and the first woman to compete at the Penn Relays for the University of Pennsylvania, who later trained alongside Bridget at Cambridge.

Friday's College Men's 4x400 Eastern heat began for Cambridge at 20:15 local time. The squad was drawn in heat one alongside American International, LIU, Lehigh, and Marist among others. James McCulloch led off, handing to Jack Lipman on the second leg, with the pair through 800m in 1:40.29. Rhys Gibbs ran the third leg in a 49.83 split, moving the team from twelfth to eleventh place at the second exchange. Ben Greenleaf anchored in 50.59 to bring the team home tenth in a final time of 3:20.70.

The performance was sufficient to qualify Cambridge for the College Men's 4x400 Eastern final on time, with confirmation arriving later that evening following a disqualification to one of the qualifying teams.

Conditions on Saturday were considerably tougher: persistent drizzle and a falling temperature meant that the warm-up areas were busier than normal and the call room was packed. The final was scheduled for 17:25. The squad retained the same running order. McCulloch and Lipman went through 800m in 1:41.86 in sixth, with Gibbs and Greenleaf splitting 51.66 and 51.16 respectively in the wet. Cambridge crossed the line in 3:24.67 to finish eighth of the eight teams that completed the race. Manhattan College took the win in 3:19.67, narrowly ahead of West Chester and Voorhees.

While the time was slower than the heat, simply reaching the final at the Penn Relays carries its own weight, and the squad were proud to represent Cambridge alongside Oxford at one of the oldest and most storied meets in the sport.

This trip would not have been possible without the generous support of Paul Willcox, whose contribution underwrote the costs of travel and entry and made Cambridge representation at Franklin Field this year a reality. The team and the club are sincerely grateful for his support of the joint Achilles squad, and hope this account conveys something of what the weekend meant to those who took part.

The squad would also like to record its thanks to the coaches and managers who made the trip work on the ground. Bridget Wheeler offered the squad expert coaching, tactical insight, and a wealth of race-day advice that proved invaluable in the build-up to both performances at Franklin Field. Dillon Rinauro's coaching across the winter season laid the groundwork from which both races were run. Lynn gave the team the singular privilege of competing at Penn alongside one of its own pioneers, a connection that none of the athletes will forget.

Finally, our thanks to the Achilles Club itself, and to the Oxford squad with whom we travelled, raced, and represented our two universities at the 2026 Penn Relays.