PENNSYLVANIA, United States — Jamaica’s boys’ teams swept the three Championships of Americas high school boys relays at the 122nd Penn Relays at a chilly Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania yesterday.
Kingston College won the 4x100 metres event, St Jago got their second 4x800m title in almost three decades, while Jamaica College created a massive upset by winning the 4x400m at the end of the day.
The big surprise was Calabar High’s failure to win any of the events after winning two events last year and coming into the championships as favourites to retain the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
In the first final of the day involving the Jamaican high school boys, lead-off runner Shivnarine Smalling gave Akeem Bloomfield the edge they needed and Kingston College flew away from the field to run 39.63 seconds, equalling the meet record held by last year’s winners Calabar High.
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Jhevaughn Matherson ran the third leg, handing off to Tyreke Bryan on the anchor leg as Kingston College won the event for the first time since 2013. It was their third win since 1976 when the race was changed to metres.
Calabar with Xavier Angus, Fabian Hewitt, Michael Stephens and Seanie Selvin finished second in 39.89 seconds, while the top American team, TC Williams of Virginia, was third in 40.56 seconds. St Jago High was fourth in 40.6 seconds.
Excelsior High was sixth in 41.44 seconds, while Jamaica College, who had finished fifth, was disqualified. St Elizabeth Technical did not finish.
Munro College with Andre Edwards, Romel Plummer, Rushane Edwards and Delano Williams won the small schools’ consolation race in 41.1 seconds, equalling the event record held by STETHS since 2014.
St Catherine High was third in 41.6 seconds and Herbert Morrison fifth in 41.70 seconds.
After their disappointment in the 4x100m, Jamaica College, who had not won a 4x400m final all season, came up big with the team of Maleik Smith, Michael Campbell, Devaughn Baker and Phillip Lemonios, running three minutes 12.34 seconds for only their fourth ever win in the mile relay.
Previously, Jamaica College had won back to back to titles in 1992 and 1993 and 2000.
Calabar was second with 3:13.09 seconds with Christopher Taylor splitting 46.58 seconds on the anchor to take them from fourth place; TC Williams of Virginia was third in 3:13.55 seconds.
St Jago was fifth in 3:14.53 seconds and Kingston College eighth in 3:19.48 seconds.
The St Jago High team of Eric McKenzie (1:54.56), Joel Jean Pierre (1:53.96), Keenan Lawrence (1:53.02), Leon Clarke (1:52.17) won the 4x800m for the second time, 26 years after St Jago won it for the first time in 1990, running seven minutes 33.71 seconds, the fourth fastest time ever at the Penn Relays, beating defending champions St Elizabeth Technical who ran 7:35.20 seconds.
St Jago also had the fifth fastest time ever at Penn Relays after they had run 7:35.89 seconds in 1990, a record at the time.
Andrew Kidd, the distance coach at St Jago, told the Jamaica
Observer the win was the “icing on the cake†as all season they had “searched for the right team†and eventually “got it right at the Penn Relaysâ€.
Kingston College were fifth in 1:45.12 seconds.
