Mile Mark Falls at Penn Relays
On one of the grandest stages in American prep track & field, James Finucane ’08 set a new Mercersburg record in the mile run April 25.

Finucane's 4:18.59 effort at the Penn Relays was the best-ever for a Mercersburg athlete in the mile, and broke a school record that had stood since 1984. His time was good for eighth overall in a talented field, and came in front of an estimated 30,000 people at Philadelphia's Franklin Field. (The event is the largest annual meet in North America.)

“James showed a lot of guts running that mile, but he's been preparing for it since well before last summer,” said Matthew Kearney, who coaches Mercersburg’s distance runners. “This isn't something you accomplish overnight, but through long, deliberate training. He is so focused and in control of his running right now because he has been working so diligently all year long.”

Finucane, the two-time defending Mid-Atlantic Prep League individual champion in cross country, earned a state championships medal by taking fifth place in the mile at the Pennsylvania Independent Schools State Indoor Track Championships in March. He will attempt to break the school record in the 3200-meter run this weekend at the Altoona Invitational.

Also at the Penn Relays, Finucane joined Pat Morgan ’08, David Strider ’08, and Fleet White ’08 on the Blue Storm's 4x400-meter relay team for a fourth-place finish in the Prep Boys category (3:35.68); the women's 4x400 team of Deborah Adjibaba ’11, Lena Finucane ’09, Whitney Matthew ’08, and Asia Walker ’09 finished 11th in the Girls Prep School division (4:13.45).

Click here to see a video of Finucane’s race.