Seven Jamaican schools qualified for Friday’s high school boys’ 4x100m Championships of America final after Thursday’s qualifying at the Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Eight-time winners and favourites Calabar High ran 40.24 seconds to lead the qualifying, followed by another eight-time champion, Kingston College, who ran 40.70 seconds.

Archbishop Carroll of Washington DC are the top American qualifiers with 41.03 seconds, just ahead of Jamaica College’s 41.04 seconds with defending champions Excelsior next with 41.08 seconds.

Edwin Allen High, 41.35 seconds; William Knibb Memorial, 41.38 seconds; Blue Mountain High of Pennsylvania, 41.45 seconds; and St Elizabeth Technical, 41.49 seconds, also made the cut.

Jamaican teams have won the last 18 titles, dating back to 2005.

Meanwhile, another five Jamaican teams are into the International final, reserved for the nine fastest international schools that did not make the Championship of America final.

St George’s College, who were 11th overall after the heats with 41.79 seconds, leads the pack followed by Herbert Morrison Technical, 42.06 seconds; Petersfield High, 42.34 seconds; Queens College of the Bahamas, 42.40 seconds; Munro College, 42.57 seconds; Mona High, 42.74 seconds; Queens Royal College of Trinidad and Tobago, 42.90 seconds; as well as St Vincent Grammar of St Vincent and the Grenadines, 43.01 seconds and a second school from the Bahamas, St Augustine’s, also with 43.01 seconds.