12 Raymond Graham/Gleaner Writer FOR THE past two decades, Jamaica’s male high school teams competing at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia have shut out their United States counterparts from the top spot in the Championships of America 4x100-metre relay, and this year’s 130th staging looks set to be no different. Jamaican domination of the event has been so complete that, in each of the past three championships, at least six Jamaican teams have filled the nine lanes in the final. Only Archbishop John Carroll of Washington, DC, have made any inroads, finishing third in 2023, fourth in 2024, and third again last year. At this year’s staging, defending champions Calabar High, with nine titles, will be hoping to break the deadlock between themselves, Camperdown High and Boys and Girls High of New York by capturing a historic 10th title. Calabar are the record holders in the event with their blistering 39.00 seconds set in 2017, and they have registered three of the fastest times ever, including 39.51 in 2018 and 39.63 in 2015. That pedigree brings pressure, however, and they will be under scrutiny as they attempt to retain their crown. Despite retaining three members Jamaica’s boys expected to dominate Penns’ 4x100s The Kingston College 4x400-metre relay team celebrate winning the Championship of America event at the Penn Relays on Saturday, April 30, 2022. COURTESY OF PENN RELAYS MEDIA Members of the Calabar High sprint relay team display their trophy after their victory in the Championship of America 4x100 metres at the Penn Relays. From left: Shaquane Gordon, Khamani Gordon, Jamal Stephenson and Dijon Swaine. CONTRIBUTED of last year’s winning quartet — Jamal Stephenson, Dijon Swaine and Khamanie Gordon — Calabar have yet to show signs of being ready for a successful title defence. Stephenson’s injury-plagued season may have played a role. Instead, Excelsior High, Jamaica College (JC) and Kingston College (KC) have emerged as the teams in the ascendant, and the winner is expected to come from this trio. Excelsior, winners in 2024 with a modest 40.44 clocking, are in pole position heading into the championships. Coached by David Riley, they are the event leaders after posting 39.53 to win the Class One title at the Gibson McCook Relays. They underlined their depth at the ISSA Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, where they won in 39.69 despite being without their top sprinter, Riquelme Reid, the Class One 100m champion. Those performances represent the two fastest times recorded this season. With Reid expected to return for Penn Relays to team up with Michael Graham and Malike Nugent, Excelsior appear well positioned to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish and mount a serious title challenge. Former champions JC and KC, both of whom have gone sub-40 seconds this season, will also be targeting the top spot. JC finished second to Excelsior at the Gibson McCook Relays in 39.66 and later captured the Corporate Area Championships. They arrive at Penn Relays buoyed by their capture of the Mortimer Geddes Trophy and, with athletes such as Elijah Smiekle, Malique Dennis, Makaelan Woods and Omary Robinson, could upset the favourites and repeat their 2023 triumph. Kingston College, whose last title came in 2016, have also shown encouraging form. Their third-place finish at Gibson McCook produced a 39.66 — identical to second-placed JC — and with Nyron Wade and Kyle Bodden leading their charge, KC will be seeking to reclaim glory. Once again, Archbishop John Carroll are expected to pose the strongest challenge from the United States. However, facing Jamaican teams in red-hot form, they will have a steep climb if they are to disrupt the island’s long-standing dominance of the event. THE WEEKLY GLEANER | APRIL 16 - MAY 14, 2026 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | PENNS RELAY FEATURE
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