PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: Hydel High defended their High School Girls’ 4×400 Championship of America title with a hard-fought victory at the 127th Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field on Saturday.
Dannielle King anchored the team and had to overcome a dual challenge from Kelly-Ann Kerr of Edwin Allen High and Sage Hinton of Bullis School in the final stages of the race, securing the victory in 3:35.63. It was Hydel’s fourth 4×400 Championship of America title.
The Hydel team also included Aaliyah Mullings, Oneika McAnnuff and Jody-Ann Daley.
Edwin Allen, who have won the title five times, finished in second place with a time of 3:36.20, just .05 of a second ahead of Bullis School from Maryland.
Holmwood Technical and St Catherine High, two other Jamaican schools, came in fourth and fifth, with times of 3:43.13 and 3:45.03, respectively.
The victory secured the 4×100-4×400 double, with the Corey Bennett-coached school having earlier won the 4×100 Championship of America. The team consisting of Alana Reid, Oneika McAnnuff, Shemonique Hazle, and Alliah Baker performed well in unfavorable cold and rainy conditions, executing smooth baton changes and finishing with an impressive time of 44.16 seconds, which ranks as the fifth-fastest time in the history of the Penn Relays. This was also Hydel High’s first 4×100 Championship of America title.
That race was billed as a major face-off 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 won the High School Girls’ 4×800 Championship of America in a commanding fashion, preventing Jamaica from a clean sweep of the three championship races.
Jamaican high school girls have been the dominant force in these events, having claimed all three Championship of America titles in the last six editions of the festival. Union Catholic clinched the victory with a time of 8:44.98, while Edwin Allen, the reigning champion from 2022, finished in second place with a time of 8:58.83.
