Camperdown High School, Kingston College and Jamaica College raced to top spots on the podium at the 126th Penn Relays on April 30. Camperdown became the most successful Jamaican team in the 4×100 metres at the prestigious relay, with Kingston College taking the 100th Jamaican high school championship victory with its fast victory in the 4×400 and Jamaica College closed the show with a win that confirmed its supremacy in the 4x800m.

Camperdown edged JC and St Jago in a close 4×100 final, in 40.13 seconds. Rimando Thomas, Junior Harris and Jason Lewis gave 400m hurdler Roshawn Clarke a lead and the tall lad gave the Sprint Factory its 9th Penn title in the 4x100m. Head coach Okeile Stewart gave his troops a mission before the Championship of America race began. Asked what he told them, he recalled, “this is the time for them to market themselves. History remembers winners so go out there and win.”

The Kingston College quartet of Amal Glasgow, Shamier Uter, Emanuel Rwotomiya and Carifta Under 17 and Boys Championships, class 2 winner, Marcinho Rose, produced a season leading time of 3 minutes 09.52 seconds to win the 4×400 metres street and lane ahead of the Bullis School from Maryland, 3.11.90, and St Jago High, 3.12.09. The command performance rang up the 100th Jamaican Penn Relay win.

Kingston College had won the first in the 4×110 yard relay in 1964.

Less than an hour later, Jamaica College took the 101st title with a solo run in the 4×800. In front of a nearly full house, Omarion Davis, Handal Robban, Kemario Bygrave and captain J’Voughnn Blake streaked away to the third-fastest time in Penn Relays history – 7 minutes 28.38 seconds.

The win completed a Western Relays-Gibson McCook Relays-Penn Relays triple crown.

The meet saw glory for Jayden Hibbert of Kingston College in the triple jump, Edwin Allen High School’s Christopher Young in the shot and Dejone Raymond of S.T.E.T.H.S. in the high jump.

Jamaicans Romaine Beckford and Phillip Lemonious distinguished themselves in college competitions.

Formerly of Buff Bay High School, and now studying at the University of South Florida, Beckford took the college men’s high jump and soared over a personal best of 2.23m to finalise a spellbinding duel with Bahamian, Sean Miller of Ohio State University. By contrast, ex-JC athlete Lemonious cruised 13.48 seconds to win the 110m hurdles for the University of Arkansas.

Omar McLeod and Natoya Goule placed second in their respective Olympic Development events. McLeod, the 2016 Olympic 110m hurdles Champion clocked 13.22 seconds behind American Devon Allen.

Goule finished fast – 1 minute 24.09 seconds – in the 600m won by Olympic 800m champion Athing Mu of the United States.

McLeod’s time is the second-fastest by a Jamaican this year, trailing the season leading mark of 13.20 by Hansle Parchment in Kingston on April 23.