PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania-

Herbert Morrison High ended their 2007 track and field season on a high at chilly Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Saturday when they set a Penn Relays Small Schools’ record in the boys 4x100m relay.

The team of Harlando Hines, Dean Francis, Keniel Lee and Dexter Lee blazed to a fast 41.32 seconds to win the consolation event after they just failed to get into the Championship of America finals, joining seven other Jamaican schools.

Sporting a rare smile, Herbert Morrison’s coach, Claude Grant, told the OBSERVER WEST minutes after the event that they were not disappointed about not making the finals as he knew they would have struggled against the likes of St Jago who set a new Championship record 39.96 and Calabar, who were second in 40.28 seconds.

Herbert Morrison, which ran 41.20 to win at Western Relays in February and had the eighth fastest time overall from the heats, improved on their previous best placing at Penn Relays, after taking second place last year behind another western school Munro College who did not make the trip this year.

Jamaican teams occupied the top six places in the Championships finals while the lone American school, South Shore of Brooklyn, New York had two Jamaicans on the team.

Herbert Morrison had won their heat by a large margin on Friday (42.73) when they ran in very cold and miserable conditions after waiting in the holding area for over three hours, including two breaks because of lightning.

Cornwall College who was second in their heat in 43.05 seconds came within minutes of making their first ever finals at Penn Relays. They actually took their place in the Small Schools’ finals after being named alternates. The other schools, however, turned up and they were replaced.

It would have been difficult for Cornwall who took just five boys to the meet as high/long jumper, Jhaun Bryan, had to replace Fitzroy Harris who was ruled out of the meet by an injury he picked up in the heats.

Mannings School, the only Jamaican team in the Large Schools’ final, was disqualified after a poor baton change on the second hand-over between Dexter McKenzie and Favian Blagrove.

In the Mile relays, Herbert Morrison was the best of the western schools with a 3:20.71 effort for fourth in their heat with the teams of Joemaine Lewis, Dean Francis, Tevaskie Lewin and Dwight Robinson.

STETHS was ninth in their heat in 3:24.64, Mannings was also ninth in their heat in 3:26.11, two places better than Cornwall College who finished in 3:27.86.

The only girls team from western Jamaica, STETHS, was a creditable third in the Small Schools’ consolation finals with 48.30 seconds, behind winner Alpha Academy.

The team of Mellisa Teape, Tiffany Harris, Raquel Farquharson and Tanesha Edmund had run 48.67 to win their qualifying heat.

The STETHS girls were also fourth in their 4x400m heat in 4:01.88, trailing Edwin Allen who won that heat.

Meanwhile, Steve Banton of STETHS was the best-placed Jamaican high school boy in the 400m hurdles, placing fifth in a time of 53.9 seconds.

Cornwall’s Bryan failed to advance past the first round of the high jump where he was the only Jamaican contestant.