Newtown’s Sanaa Hebron, daughter of ex-Eagle Vaughn, sets a Penn Relays hurdles record

There are hundreds of races and thousands of runners at every Penn Relays. But sometimes, it feels like one athlete’s moment is written in the stars.

It was that for University of Miami senior Sanaa Hebron on Thursday at Franklin Field. The Newtown native, Neshaminy High graduate, and daughter of former Eagle Vaughn Hebron set a new Relays record in the college women’s 400-meter hurdles, winning the championship in 55.3 seconds.

“The goal was to get the meet record, so I’m really happy it happened,” she said before heading off to family members and friends in the stands.

“It feels amazing,” Hebron said. “Being from Pa., I was really happy to come home and be around my people. So I’m really excited to be able to get it done on this track.”

Her father “definitely” still gets stopped for autographs, she said, no surprise given his many years of TV work after playing for the Birds from 1993-95. He then played for the Denver Broncos from 1996-98, winning back-to-back Super Bowls there.

It might make some Eagles fans feel old that Sanaa was born in 2004. But now she has her own sporting legacy, written on her hometown’s legendary track.

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“I think this track means a lot — it’s really historical,” she said. “Every track person here grows up on this track, so it means a lot to be able to come back and see familiar faces.”

Pennsauken High became the first local team to qualify for the girls’ 4x100 Championship of America since Cheltenham in 2017, clocking the joint-second-best time of the heats at 45.68 seconds.

Bullis of Potomac, Md., also clocked 45.68, and Jamaica’s Edwin Allen — the defending champion and winner of eight of the last 10 titles, had the best time at 45.63. The title race is Friday at 2:15 p.m.

Pennsauken and Winslow Township made the 4x400 final, posting the fifth and sixth-best times in the heats. Hydel of Jamaica, the four-time reigning champion and winner of six of the last seven — including a Relays record 3:30.42 last year — had the top time in 3:39.55.

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Bullis was the top American qualifier in 3:40.24, a year after finishing second. While the Bulldogs’ boys’ 4x400 team has gotten a lot of hype thanks to Quincy Wilson, the girls’ team is also a power. That championship race is Friday at 4:55 p.m.

Penn Charter, Central Bucks East, and Upper Dublin made the 4x800 final, with Penn Charter posting the top time of the heats at 8:56.14 — the only heat time under nine minutes.

The title has been won by U.S. schools the last three times, with IMG Academy of Bradenton, Fla., the defending champion. No Philadelphia-area school has won it since the former William Penn High took the first edition in 1979.

Penn State’s Nick Sloff won the college men’s 1,500 meters, beating La Salle’s Sean Cronin at the line by just 0.04 seconds. Villanova’s Jack Fenlon was fifth, Penn’s Vinay Raman was ninth, and Villanova’s Devon Comber was 12th.

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Wisconsin’s Kylie Finger won the women’s 1,500 meters. Villanova’s Nicole Vanasse was the top finisher from a local school, in 11th.

Pennsauken native Bryce Tucker of Rutgers finished second in the college men’s 400-meter hurdles, with TCU’s Jayden Douglas taking the title.

The crowd enjoyed the annual tradition of masters races at lunchtime. Michael Kish of Houston Elite took the 75-plus men’s 100 meters in 13.27 seconds, beating his last two times in the 70-plus race — 13.47 in 2025 and 13.32 in 2024. There was a little wind assistance this year, but no one seemed to mind.

The most famous masters race remains on Saturday, as always. The 80-plus 100-meter dash is set for 3:40 p.m., just before the high school boys’ Championship of America.