PHILADELPHIA, USA — Camperdown High, Kingston College and Jamaica College won the Championships of Americas high school boys’ 4x100m, 4x400m and 4x800m titles, respectively, on Saturday’s final day of the 126th Penn Relays Carnival at a sunbathed Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Camperdown won their first 4x100m title in 16 years, Kingston College waited 57 years for their second win in the 4x400m, while Jamaica College last won the 4x800m 23 years ago in 1999.

The sweep of the high school relay titles matched the achievements of the girls from a day before when Edwin Allen High won the 4x100m and 4x800m, and Hydel High took the 4x400m relay.

It was the seventh-straight staging during which Jamaican schools were sweeping the high school boys’ 4x100m, 4x400m and 4x800m relays at the Penn Relays.

For style points and quality, the girls broke two records — Edwin Allen lowering their world high school record in the 4x100m to 43.18 seconds down from the 43.28 seconds they ran at the ISSA Champs, while Hydel broke their own record in the 4x400m with 3:32.77 minutes.

On Saturday Jamaica College, running by themselves for most of the race, clocked the third-fastest 4x800m time ever at the Penn Relays, a quick 7:28.38 minutes, while Kingston College had the seventh-best time in the 4x400m in 3:09.52 seconds.

Camperdown High created an upset in the 4x100m when they won the 4x100m in 40.13 seconds with a team comprising Rimando Thomas, Junior Harris, Jason Lewis and 400m hurdles specialist Roshawn Clarke on anchor. It was the 15th-straight year that a Jamaican team was winning the event here.

It was their ninth Penn Relays win in the sprint relays, tied for the lead, and their first in 16 years since 2006.

They are tied for the lead with two American schools — Mercersburg Academy of Pennsylvania whose last win came in 1935, and Boys and Girls of Brooklyn New York who last won here in 1972.

Camperdown’s win broke a tie on eight wins they shared with Kingston College and Calabar High, while Wolmer’s Boys’ are on six wins.

Okeel Stewart, a member of the coaching staff, told the Jamaica Observer that “we were not surprised that we came here and won”.

Jamaica College, the ISSA Champs Class One winners, were second with 40.16 seconds followed by 2019 champions St Jago High (40.17 seconds) and Calabar High (40.40).

St Catherine High were sixth with 41.12 seconds, St Elizabeth Technical ( 41.83), Excelsior High (42.39), and Herbert Morrison High — who almost missed the race — were ninth with 42.82 seconds.

Kingston College won their first 4x400m race of the year when they dominated the event from the start and ran away to clock 3:09.52 minutes, seventh-best ever.

Kingston College, who started attending the Relays in 1964, won the 4x400m in 1965 but had to wait 57 years before the team of Amal Glasgow, Shaemar Uter, Emmanuel Rwotomiya and Marchino Rose won by a large margin over the Bullis School of Maryland who were second in 3:11.90 — the best American school so far this year — and St Jago High who were third with 3:12.09.

Excelsior High were fourth with 3:12.83 , followed by Edwin Allen High (3:13.99), Jamaica College (3:14.387) and St Elizabeth Technical in seventh in 3:15.65.

Kingston College’s Coach Leaford Grant was happy with the win, saying it was expected. “This was our focus here,” he declared, adding that Uter “created the separation on the second leg” and Rose on the anchor.

After coming into the day with a lot of expectations, Jamaica College were not to be denied as they, too, steamrolled their way to a big win, completing 7:28.38 minutes, the third-best time ever, despite being comfortably ahead.

Only Calabar High who ran the record 7:26.09 in 2018, and St Elizabeth Technical who ran 7:27.54 that same year, have run faster than Jamaica College on Saturday.

The team of Omarion Davis, Handal Roban, Kemarrio Bygrave and J’Voughnn Blake was unchallenged as they beat Ridge High of New Jersey (7:41.59) and West Springfield of Virginia (7:45.14).

Neil Harrison, the head coach, said he was satisfied with the win, despite not getting the record.

“It was a great race, a great way to end the Relays… we wanted the 4x100m as well but that did not work out. But, this win made up for it.”

Roban on the second leg ran a fast 1:48.12 minutes to give Jamaica College a lead they would not relinquish, while Bygrave did 1:52.89 and Blake on anchor ran 1:52.31 seconds.