After winning just two of the six jump events they participated in at last year’s 126th staging of the Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, a strong contingent of Jamaican high school athletes will hope to make amends at this coming weekend’s staging.

Kingston College’s Jaydon Hibbert won the high school boys’ triple jump in his unbeaten season, and Dejone Raymond of St Elizabeth Technical was a surprise winner of the boys’ high jump.

This year, Jamaican high school athletes will start favourites in four of the six events and are second-ranked in the other two as they prepare to challenge the Americans in their own backyards.

Last year the weather played a big part in the performance of the Caribbean athletes and the forecast is not in their favour this year with predictions of temperatures under 70 degrees Fahrenheit and possible rain.

Jamaica College athletes are top-ranked in all three high school boys’ jump events with St Jago High’s Jade-Ann Dawkins favourite in the high school girls’ triple jump, Mt Alvernia High’s Aaliyah Foster is the number two-ranked athlete in the high school girls’ long jump and Shanniqua Williams of Wolmer’s Girls’ in the high jump.

Carifta Games co-champion Chavez Penn is the number one-ranked in the high school boys’ high jump, with Kingston College’s ISSA Champs Class 1 winner Aaron McKenzie who was third last year, ranked second, while Jamaica College’s Isaiah Patrick is number three.

Uroy Ryan, the ISSA champs winner who was second at the Penn Relays in long jump last year, is hoping to move a place up and win the watch.

Kingston College’s Nathan Wade and St Jago’s Demario Prince are ranked third and fourth, respectively.

Trevon Hamer, who was third at Champs and eighth at the Carifta Games, is the top-ranked athlete in the high school boys’ triple jump and his teammate Euan Young is second followed by Cornwall College’s Kesean Rhoomes, who won the bronze medal in the Champs Class 1 final.

It will be hard to bet against St Jago’s Dawkins extending her winning streak after she won the Open triple jump at Champs and the Carifta Games Under 20 title a week later where she also took the long jump title.

Holmwood Technical’s Celine Riddle will also compete as well as Excelsior’s Jade-Ann Smith and Petersfield’s Tawani Murray.

Wolmers Girls’ Shanniqua Williams will battle Carifta Games gold medallist Torian Caven of Vere Technical and Champs Class 1 winner Deijanae Bruce of Edwin Allen in what, if the weather conditions permit, could be a riveting contest.

Foster, who has lost just once all year, when she was beaten by Dawkins’ final round jump at the Carifta Trials in March, could be Mt Alvernia High’s first-ever Penn Relays champion when she lines up in the long jump.

St Catherine High’s Roshanna Sudlow is ranked number four and the versatile Richelle Stanley who scored in all three jumps finals during the ISSA Champs is ranked number six.