PHILADELPHA, USA — There is anticipation that today’s second day of the 130th Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field in Philadelphia could produce fireworks as the top Jamaican boys’ high schools square off for the final time this track and field season in team competitions.

ISSA champions Jamaica College are expected to challenge 4x100m champions Calabar High and Kingston College, who are seeking to extend their record-winning run in the 4x400m to five straight.

Jamaica College are well-set in the individual events with Michael-Andre Edwards looking to defend his triple jump title and Joseph Salmon looking to improve on his second-place finish in the discus throw last year.

Today the boys will contest the preliminaries of the 4x100m and 4x800m relays with the preliminaries and final of the 4x400m set for Saturday’s final day.

There will also be competition in the three jumps — long, triple and high as well as the shot put, discus throw and javelin events.

Twenty-nine Jamaican schools are set to contest the 4x100m where the fastest nine teams will qualify for the Championships of Americas final on Saturday and the next nine fastest non-American schools will contest the International final.

Jamaica College, Kingston College, defending champions Calabar High and Excelsior High are expected to lead the charge, while St George’s College, William Knibb Memorial and St Elizabeth Technical are also expected to challenge for places in the final.

Kingston College was the best-placed Jamaican school in the 4x800m last year, in sixth place, and the expectations are for the Jamaican schools to give an improved showing this year.

KC have run 7:38.95 minutes this year, the third-fastest time coming into the event behind Union Catholic of New Jersey, 7:32.78 and IMG Academy of Florida, 7 :35.28.

Edwin Allen High have run 7:41.06 seconds and Jamaica College 7:43.75 seconds.

Bellefield High, St Elizabeth Technical, Alphansus Davis High and Calabar High are also scheduled to take part.

In the field events, Edwards has not lost a triple jump competition this season and has a personal best 16.25m and if conditions are as good as Thursday’s first day, O’Brien Wasome’s record 16.01m set in 2016 could be in danger.

Last year Edwards won with the second-best mark of 15.95m.

Kingston College’s Rekelme Hunter, Amani Phillips and Demario Clarke are down to contest the event along with the Calabar High duo of Antonio Anderson and Kaleel Samuels as well as Roshane Francis and Kabiki Thomas of Wolmer’s Boys.

Salmon’s 67.55m set with the 1.75kg discus is the world leading mark and he will have his sights set on Traves Smikle’s 69.55m set with the American standard 1.60Kg implement.

Salmon was second last year with 61.64m.

Edwin Allen High’s Addison James, who threw the 10th best mark 65.98m to win the javelin event last year, is expected to retain his title, coming into the championships with a best of 70.30m set at the ISSA Championships.

Kingston College’s Daijon Budhai and Dylan Logan, Munro College’s Rajeem Street and Calabar High’s DeAndre Henry are also listed to take part in the event.

In the absence of Munro College’s Javontae Smith, the ISSA Champs Class 1 gold medallist, who was denied an entry visa to compete at the Penn Relays, Kingston College’s Nksosana Johnson and Calabar High’s Khaleel Henry will fly the flag in the high school boys’ shot put.

STETHS’s Champs Class 1 winner Santino Distin and the Kingston College pair of Tejahni Jaynes and Michael Neil will contest the high jump, while in the long jump, the Jamaicans down to compete are Omarion Miller of Kingston College, Jaivar Cato of Jamaica College, Talshawn Edwards of Calabar High and Svein Lawrence of Petersfield High.

Coverage provided by: