STREAK BROKEN

Bullis High School broke the hearts of Jamaican fans in the final event of the day at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Pennsylvania yesterday.

The United States-based high school, led by Olympic gold medallist Quincy Wilson, won the High School Boys’ Championships of America 4x400-metre relay in 3:10.15.

Changing their uniforms for the finals it was a facile win for Bullis as Archbishop John Carroll out of Washington ended second in 3:13.15 with Jamaica College (JC) third in 3:13.57.

Kingston College (KC), the defending champions, hoping to make it five wins in a row, ended fourth in 3:14.74, with Munro College eighth in 3:27.73. Excelsior High School failed to finish.

It was the first win for a United States-based high school team in the event since 2007 when Long Beach Poly out of California won.

Earlier, in very cold and rainy conditions, JC, with a brilliant final leg from young Kai Kelly, gave Jamaican fans something to smile about when they stormed to victory in the High School Boys’ Championships of America 4x100m in a solid 40.03 seconds.

KC finished second in 40.19, St James Academy out of Virginia were third in 40.38, St Jago High School, fourth in 40.43, Edwin Allen High School, fifth in 40.51, Excelsior High School, sixth in 40.60, Wolmer’s Boys’ School, seventh in 41.68s, Petersfield High School, eighth in 41.77, and St Mary High, ninth in 42.37.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

With eight Jamaican teams in the final, expectations were high for a grand showdown in what was considered an open affair. It took the brilliance of Kelly to bring it home for JC, as they picked up their first win in the event since 2023.

Drawn in lane six, JC had to play catch-up for most of the race, as KC, drawn in lane eight, were fastest out and held the lead going into the final exchange. With KC still ahead with about 50 metres to go, Kelly, the Under-17 Carifta Games 100m champion, powered past KC’s anchor man Taj-Oneil Gordon to put his team on top for a fine victory.

Other members of the winning JC team were Makaelen Woods, Nathaniel Martin, and Elijah Smeikle.

According to Smeikle, they were very confident about winning the event. “Despite the very cold conditions, this did not affect us, as we were very confident going into the finals, and as long as we executed well, we knew victory would have been ours. It has been hard work, sleepless nights, and big-up to all those who made this possible,” said Smeikle.

Jamaican teams also dominated the consolation International 4x100m relay final, occupying the top six spots, with William Knibb winning in 40.71.

William Knibb were followed by St George’s College in 42.27, Calabar in 42.48, Cornwall College in 42.51, Munro in 42.54, and Herbert Morrison in 42.63.

In the Championships of Americas 4x800m relay, JC, the lone Jamaican team in the final, had to settle for fourth in 7:52.27.

Union Catholic out of New Jersey won in 7:41.10, ahead of IMG Academy out of Florida in second with 7:42.71, while third went to Hackensack of New Jersey in 7:52.27.