Jamaican high school girls won three events and finished second in another as the 121st Penn Relays Carnival opened under near freezing temperatures at Franklin Field, Philadelphia on Thursday.
Holmwood Technical’s Tamara Moncrieff equaled the triple jump record, while Edwin Allen athletes Paul-Ann Gayle and Chanice Lewis won two more events on a day that started cool and then got even colder.
Moncrieffe who set a new Champs Record and also won at CARIFTA Games, jumped 13.36m, equaling the mark set by former Vere Technical standout Kimberly Williams in 2007.
Manchester High’s Shanique Wright was second with 12.87m while St Jago’s Nhayilla Renteria was fifth with 11.99m.
Lewis won the long jump with 6.11m beating her teammate Danique Bryan- 6.00m with St Jago’s Tissana Hickling fourth with 5.77m.
Gayle upset Excelsior’s Shanice Love to win the high school girls discus throw with a personal best 51.96m to Love’s 50.44m as Jamaicans won the event for a sixth straight time.
Herbert Morrison’s Sashane Hanson was second in the high jump with 1.71m beaten by Fleetwood’s Cyre Virgo who father is Jamaican.
Meanwhile on the track, Edwin Allen High leads a strong Jamaican contingent into Friday’s finals in the relays with some fast running Thursday.
The team from Frankfield, Clarendon, led the qualifiers in both events while Holmwood Technical qualified for three Championships of Americas finals, the 4x100m, 4x400m and 4×800, Vere Technical are also in two finals, the 4x100m and 4x800m while St Jago are in the 4x100m and 4x400m deciders.
Edwin Allen led both the 4x100m and 4x400m qualifiers into today’s finals; they clocked 46.26 seconds to win their hat in the sprint relays.
Three other Jamaican schools are also in the Championships of Americans finals, St Jago, Holmwood and Wolmers Girls while former champions Long Beach Poly, Bullis School of Potomac, Maryland, Riverdale Baptist and St Augustine of the Bahamas are also in the finals.
Manchester High and St Catherine High are in the Large Schools consolation 4x100m final while four more schools Herbert Morrison Technical, Alpha Academy, St Elizabeth Technical and Excelsior High are in the Small Schools consolation final.
Edwin Allen, St Jago, Holmwood Technical and Vere Technical are all in the 4x400m final set for 4:20pm local time today.
Record holders Vere Technical and Holmwood Technical will carry the Jamaican flag in the 4x800m final.
Also on the track yesterday, St ElizabethTechnical’s Junelle Bromfield finished second in the high school girls 400m hurdles event after running a 1 minute 00.80 seconds.
The CARIFTA Games Under 18 champion won her section but was just beaten by Brooklyn Broadwater of Springside High of Philadelphia who won the final section in 1 minute 00.69 seconds.
Also Vere Technical’s Shanice Clarke was sixth in 1:02.54 seconds, Manchester High’s Ranae McKenzie placed 11th 1:03.92 seconds.
Papine’s Candice McLeod was 16th while Alpha’s Zinedine Russell who was impeded in her race was 23rd in 1:08.84 seconds.
