All-soph Calabar team runs scorching 39.00 4x100

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By Jim Lambert for DyeStat

PHILADELPHIA  -  In one of most eagerly anticipated baton battles in meet history, Calabar of Jamaica delivered a titanic knockout blow in the 4x100 Championship of America race that rocked Franklin Field, sending the crowd into a frenzy Saturday at the 123rd Penn Relays.

In a matchup between co-meet record holders and Jamaican rivals Calabar and Kingston, Calabar’s all-sophomore lineup of Tyreke Wilson, Christopher Taylor, Michael Stephens, and Dejour Russell torched the track with a performance for the ages, roaring its way to a jaw-dropping meet and Jamaican record of 39.00.

That crushed the meet record of 39.63 that Calabar ran in 2015 and Kingston matched last year. Kingston finished second in 39.74, No. 5 in meet history, and Western Branch of Virginia was third in 40.82.

Jamaican teams have now won 13 straight 4x100 titles. The last U.S. team to win was Glenville of Ohio.     

Calabar, which ran 39.98 in the trials Friday, knew it was ready to drop a bomb.  

“We knew we could come here and break the record, but we wanted to really kill it,’’ said Russell, who ran anchor. “Our handoffs were on and we all crushed it. We did what we said we were going to do, and we are going to go even faster. This is just the start of things for us.’’

Russell said he and his teammates were also fueled by the pro-Jamaican crowd that packed the house like they always do here.

“This is a home meet for us,’’ Russell said. “Look around this place. It’s all green and yellow and Jamaican flags are waving everywhere in the air. We wanted to put on a show that no one forgets, and that’s what we did.’’

Western Branch’s Kavante Dawson, Micaiah Harris, Jahkwan Blackey, Alfandre Page put on a show themselves by finishing as the top U.S. team, two places ahead of Bullis MD, fifth in 41.48.    

“We were determined to go faster than we did yesterday (41.45) and we knew we could do it,’’ Page said. “To be in a race like this at a meet like this against two of the best teams ever and get third is more than we could have asked for.’’