PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: Hydel High retained the High School Girls’ 4×400 Championship of Americatitle with a fighting victory at the 127th Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Dannielle King on the anchor leg had to survive a two-pronged attack from Kelly-Ann Kerr of Edwin Allen High and Sage Hinton of Bullis School in the closing stages before securing the victory in 3:35.63.
Edwin Allen, which have won the title five times, did well to secure second place in 3:36.20, just .05 of a second ahead of Bullis School from Maryland.
The two other Jamaican schools – Holmwood Technical (3:43.13) and St Catherine High (3:45.03) – finished fourth and fifth respectively.
The victory secured the 4×100-4×400 double for Hydel High. The Corey Bennett-trained school had won the 4×100 Championship of America earlier.
The team of Alana Reid, Oneika McAnnuff, Shemonique Hazle, and Alliah Baker executed good baton changes in cold and rainy conditions to power home in an impressive 44.16 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in the history of the Penn Relays. It was also the first 4×100 Championship of America title for Hydel High.
That race was billed as a big showdown between Hydel High and Edwin Allen, the reigning champion. However, the showdown did not materialize as a botched baton change on the first leg between Serena Cole and Theianna-Lee Terrelonge denied the Michael Dyke-coached team to finish the race.
Meanwhile, Union Catholic High School from New Jersey destroyed the field to win the High School Girls’ 4×800 Championship of America, denying Jamaica a clean sweep of the three championship races.
Jamaican high school girls have dominated these events, having won all three Championship of America titles in the last six editions of the festival.
Union Catholic won in 8:44.98. Edwin Allen, which won the title in 2022, finished second in 8:58.83.
