PHILADELPHIA, USA — Edwin Allen High are well placed to defend their High School Girls Championship of Americas (COA) 4x100m and 4x800m titles on today’s final day of the 127th Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Edwin Allen is the only Jamaican school to qualify for both finals so far, with the preliminaries and finals of the 4x400m set to be run today and for which Hydel High are the defending champions.

Athletes, fans and members of the media will hope the cold, rainy weather that has prevailed for the first two days will relent. Most of Friday’s afternoon session was conducted in a constant cold drizzle that drove all but a few under cover.

Edwin Allen is the only Jamaican team in the 4x800m final, four Jamaican schools are in the 4x100m Championship of Americas 4x100m finals, with another seven set to contest the international final.

If the weather relents the 4x100m should see Hydel High and Edwin Allen squaring off in what could be a fast race.

Hydel High, the ISSA Champs Class One and Two champions, topped the qualifying with 44.96 seconds while Edwin Allen were third in 46.64 seconds.

They will be joined by St Jago High and Wolmer’s Girls’ while the Jamaican teams in the International final are St Catherine High, Holmwood Technical, St Mary High, Manchester High, Excelsior High, Mt Alvernia High and Holy Childhood.

On Friday morning Edwin Allen High were the only qualifiers for the 4x800m COA final after running 9:17.28 seconds — the second best on the day behind Union Catholic of New Jersey who led with 9:11.26 seconds.

Surprisingly 11-time champions Holmwood Technical and Alphansus Davis High failed to make it into the top 12 as they finished down the tables.

Alphansus Davis were 18th overall with 9:29.62 seconds and Holmwood Technical were 20th overall with 9:31.37 seconds.

St Jago High finished 12th in the finals of the High School Girls’ Distance Medley Championships, running 12:53.08 seconds with the team of Kededra Coombs, Quana Walker, Treshelle Simpson and Misha-Jade Samuels.

Saratoga Springs of New York won with 11:43.42 seconds, ahead of West Springfield of Virginia with 12:07.48 seconds and Haverford of Pennsylvania in 12:08.53 seconds.

— Paul A Reid