Penn freshman Shani Boston entered the final event of yesterday's Penn Relays heptathlon -- the 800-meter run -- in first place with senior teammate Kai Ivory trailing in second place by 68 points.
Boston knew that her teammate had to beat her by roughly five seconds to take the title away from her.
"I pretty much situated myself in the race to be no more than five seconds [behind] and keep her in eyeshot," Boston said.
Over the course of two days of competition and six completed events, the two teammates pushed each other as each vied for the heptathlon title.
"As I crossed the finish line, I knew that I had it because I looked at the clock and she crossed the line first and then it was about two seconds later I came across, so I knew it wasn't enough [for her] to win," Boston added.
The Atlanta native's final score of 5,049 -- 40 points ahead of Ivory's total -- secured her the title as she became only the second Penn woman to win an event at the Penn Relays.
Frances Childs was the lone member of the Penn women's track team to win an event at the Relays before yesterday, when she also won the heptathlon in 1988.
"I feel absolutely honored and I'm ecstatic about it," Boston said. "Penn has such a rich history here, and just to be a part of it is just tremendous."
Boston entered the heptathlon's second day as the overall leader with 2,935 points and a slim lead over Delaware freshman Mandy Stille and Princeton senior Susan Coltmon, who trailed by four and seven points, respectively. Ivory stood in fourth place with 2,869 points.
In the long jump, Boston was able to increase her advantage by winning the event with a leap of 18 feet, 8 1/2 inches. Coltmon moved into second place and Ivory remained in fourth place after finishing second and third, respectively, in the event.
Ivory positioned herself within reach of the overall title after winning the javelin throw with a toss of 145 feet, 11 inches. However, her third-place finish of 2:27.54 in the 800m was not enough to catch her teammate.
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