Eagle Rock Athletes in Penn Relays, Nation’s Largest Amateur Track Meet

After months of regular and rigorous training, 13 Eagle Rock High School athletes are participating in the nation’s largest amateur track meet that is also the oldest relay competition in the United States, established in 1895.

The Eagle Rock athletes left this past Tuesday to take part in the 119th Penn Relays, according to ERHS Principal Salvador Velasco. Held at the University of Pennsylvania and popularly known as the Penn Relay Carnival, the event draws more than 100,000 fans, according to the university’s website.

The school athletes are accompanied by their coaches, including some Eagle Rock alumni who are known to be responsible for inducting a group of so-called “full inclusion” students into the Penn Relays track team. (“Full inclusion” is a pedagogical term for the education of students who are physically or intellectually challenged.)

This is the second straight year in which Eagle Rock’s full inclusion students are part of the school’s Penn Relays team. “It's really something to see as they line up and run, fully integrated into the events,” said Stephan Early, a longtime ERHS English teacher and a former president of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council.