Eight-time winners Calabar High stamped their dominance on the opening day of the 129th Penn Relays Carnival, as they produced the fastest qualifying time to headline a strong Jamaican contingent into Friday’s Championship of America High School Boys’ 4x100m relay final at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

The formidable quartet of Jamal Stephenson, Shaquane Gordon, Dijon Swaine, and Khamani Gordon blazed to 40.24 seconds in heat four, a performance that not only secured a commanding heat victory on Thursday but also sent a resounding message to their rivals ahead of the title decider.

Right behind them, Kingston College clocked 40.70 seconds to finish second in the same heat, while Jamaica College crossed the line in 41.04 seconds, as all three booked their lanes in the championship final. In a fiercely contested race, Edwin Allen High (41.35s), William Knibb Memorial (41.38s), and St Elizabeth Technical (41.49s) also made the cut despite placing fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, in that heat, thanks to their overall times ranking among the top qualifiers.

The speed and depth of Jamaican sprinting prowess were further highlighted in another heat, where defending champions Excelsior High, represented by Ryeem Walker, Malike Nugent, James Harrison, and Michael Graham, finished second in 41.08 seconds, narrowly behind Archbishop John Carroll of the United States, who won in 41.03 seconds. Blue Mountain Academy was third in 41.45 seconds, as all three advanced to the championship showdown.

Meanwhile, other Jamaican schools—St George’s College, Herbert Morrison Technical, Petersfield High, Munro College, and Mona High — while not advancing to the Championship of America final, will line up in the High School Boys’ International Final. They will be joined by Queen’s College and St Augustine’s from The Bahamas, Queen’s Royal College of Trinidad and Tobago, and St Vincent Grammar School from St Vincent and the Grenadines in what promises to be another spirited display of regional talent.