Penn, Westby like depth of St. John track team

Depth is a key for the St. John the Baptist track team.

Buoyed by a strong stable of distance runners and sprinters, St. John the Baptist ran to a first-place finish in the sprint medley relay at the New Balance Games Saturday. The Cougars' team of Ryan Woolley, Victoria Lundin, Chelsea Penn and Catherine Westby finished in 4:12.27.

The Cougars attributed their success to depth. "It's great that we have a lot of runners with different styles," Penn said of her team, which ran without star distance runner Anne Carey.

"The fact that we have so many different runners makes our team whole," Westby said.

The ultimate priority for St. John the Baptist goes beyond the New Balance Games. "Our main goal is to qualify for the Nike national championship," Penn said. "This race is a good start for us."