Calabar set lone relay record at Gibson McCook Relays

Calabar High set the only relay meet record at the 48th Gibson McCook Relays on Saturday, as their Boys’ Class Three 4x200m team clocked 1:31.30 at the National Stadium, surpassing the previous mark of 1:31.39.

Calabar edged out last year’s winners, St Jago High (1:31.44), and Kingston College (KC) (1:32.90), with all three teams recording personal bests.

The Red Hills Road-based school secured two additional victories to share top-performing school honours with Jamaica College (JC). Their Boys’ Class Two 4x200m team won in 1:27.19, finishing ahead of Wolmer’s Boys (1:27.69) and Petersfield High (1:27.83), both of which set personal bests.

Calabar’s third win came in the Boys’ Class One 4x100m relay, where they posted a personal best of 39.60. JC (39.88) and Excelsior High (39.99) also dipped under 40 seconds, finishing second and third, respectively. Defending champions St Jago High were disqualified in the preliminary round for an out-of-zone baton exchange.

JC, mirroring last year’s performance, won three events. The Old Hope Road-based school triumphed in two sprint relays and the Boys’ Class Four 4x200m relay but failed to defend their 4x800m relay and sprint medley relay open titles.

In the Boys’ Class Three 4x100m relay, JC surged past Central Championships winner St Jago High to claim victory in a personal best of 42.44 seconds. St Jago, who had secured gold at the Central Championships just three days earlier in 45.94, finished second in 42.80, also a personal best. Calabar High secured third place with another best-ever time of 43.10.

JC continued their dominance in the Boys’ Class Four 4x100m relay, successfully defending their title with a winning time of 45.14. Wolmer’s Boys finished second in 45.39, while St Jago High placed third in 45.71, with all three teams achieving personal bests.

JC also comfortably claimed the Class Four 4x200m relay crown, setting another personal best of 1:35.60. Wolmer’s Boys (1:37.46) and KC (1:38.31) completed the podium places.

KC secured two titles, winning the Boys’ Class Two 4x100m relay and the concluding 4x400m relay open.

In the Boys’ Class Two 4x100m relay, KC edged out Calabar in a tightly contested finish, with both teams credited with the same time of 41.26 seconds. A mere 0.003 seconds separated them at the line. Edwin Allen High, winners of the Central Athletics Championships, placed third in 41.41, while defending champions Excelsior High finished sixth in 41.52.

KC successfully defended their Boys’ 4x400m relay open title with a strong win in 3:10.26. The race saw Calabar’s Nickecoy Bramwell—who made headlines at last year’s 51st Carifta Games in Grenada by breaking Usain Bolt’s Under-17 400m record—pull up while leading with 300m remaining. Edwin Allen finished second in 3:11.02, with JC taking third in 3:11.37.

Alphansus Davis High from Spaulding, Clarendon, cruised to victory in the Boys’ sprint medley relay in 3:35.87, ahead of KC (3:37.18) and Charlemont High (3:38.39).

Edwin Allen High and William Knibb Memorial High also secured wins. Edwin Allen won the Boys’ 4x800m relay open in a personal best of 7:52.96, while William Knibb claimed victory in the Boys’ Class One 4x200m relay in 1:26.05.

On the girls’ side, Edwin Allen and Hydel High shared the honours, each securing three titles.

Edwin Allen, which won three of the four sprint relays at the Central Athletics Championships, aimed for a clean sweep but managed two victories in the 4x100m relays. The Michael Dyke-coached team retained the Class One 4x100m title, narrowly edging Hydel High in a race where both teams clocked 44.81 seconds, separated by just 0.002 seconds. Holmwood Technical placed third in 45.04 seconds.

Edwin Allen’s second sprint relay win came in Class Four, where they crossed the line in 47.56 seconds, ahead of Holmwood Technical (47.82) and Convent of Mercy Academy (48.06).

St Jago High avenged their defeat to Edwin Allen at the Central Athletics Championships by retaining the Girls’ Class Three 4x100m relay title. After finishing in 47.28 seconds at Central Champs, where Edwin Allen won in 46.75, St Jago reversed the result with a personal best of 46.51 seconds. Edwin Allen also set a personal best of 46.57 but had to settle for second, while Convent of Mercy Academy took third in 47.56, another personal best.

Hydel High secured the other sprint relay title—the Class Two 4x100m—winning in a personal best of 45.70 seconds, avenging their defeat to Edwin Allen at the Central Athletics Championships. Edwin Allen finished second in 45.91, while Vere Technical placed third in 46.00.

Edwin Allen claimed their third title in the sprint medley relay, winning in 3:58.68, days after securing victory in the event at the Central Athletics Championships. Alphansus Davis High (3:59.60) and St Elizabeth Technical High (3:59.96) finished second and third, respectively.

Hydel added two more titles, winning the Girls’ 4x200m open and the 4x400m open.

In the 4x200m open, Hydel won in 1:36.26, finishing ahead of Holmwood Technical, who clocked 1:37.31, while St Jago High placed third in 1:39.09.

In the 4x400m, Hydel dethroned Edwin Allen with a winning time of 3:36.11. Edwin Allen finished second in 3:38.46, while Vere Technical secured third in 3:41.19.

Other relay victories included St Jago High’s triumph in the Girls’ Class Three 4x100m relay (46.51), Holmwood Technical’s win in the Girls’ 4x800m relay open (8:54.06), and Alphansus Davis High’s successful defense of the mixed 4x400m relay title in 3:30.61. The mixed relay was introduced at the Gibson McCook Relays last year.