Hydel, KC hunting ‘three-peat’ in 4x400m at Penns

WHEN THE 2024 Penn Relays carnival begins on Thursday April 25, local schools Hydel High and Kingston College (KC) will be hoping for a three-peat in the Championships of America girls’ and boys’ 4x400 metres after capturing the event in 2022 and 2023

With the schedule of events back to its original format, where the girls will compete first, the final of the event will be on Friday, April 26 and all eyes will be on the Corey Bennett-coached Hydel girls.

Hydel, under the guidance of Bennett, have been the most dominant high school girls’ team in the 400m in recent years, and they look set to dominate the event once again. They are the leaders in the event with their 3:33.80 at the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, when they turned back Edwin Allen, who finished second in 3:35.06.

The Ferry-based school is strong in the event in the top three classes, with the leading athletes being Sushana Johnson in Class Three, Jodyann Daley and Natassia Fletcher in Class Two and Abigail Campbell and Alliah Baker in Class One.

The multi-talented Baker was on the winning team in 2022, while Daley was on last year’s team. This is Baker’s final year and she will want to leave on a high; and with the outstanding Campbell to join up with the team for the first time at ‘Penns’, it will be difficult to bet against Hydel.

Edwin Allen were second in both 2022 and 2023 and will be hoping to deny the defending champions this time around. Their charge will be led by Class One athletes Tonyan and Natasha Fox, along with Class Two athlete Kellyann Carr.

Beckford was on the Edwin Allen team who were runners-up twice. She will welcome Fox’s return. Fox ran on the 2022 team but was not in the final last year due to illness. Coach Michael Dyke will be hoping that her return will bring success.

KC ALL THE WAY

After winning in 2022, KC were not the favourites last year where they just barely qualified for the final as the eighth-fastest qualifiers with 3:17.54.

In the final, the team which included Amal Glasgow and Marcinho Rose surprised their rivals by taking an early lead and went on to score a runaway win in 3:15.62 to make it back-to-back victories.

Glasgow and Rose were also on the team in 2022 when they clocked 3:09.52 for the win, and both will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins for KC.

KC are the event leaders following two big performances at the Gibson McCook Relays, where they clocked 3:09.46, and the ISSA/Boys and Girls’ Championships, where they went even faster at 3:07.65. On both occasions they turned back Jamaica College.

With outstanding intermediate hurdlers Antonio Forbes and Shamar Jennings who ran in the preliminary round at Penns last year to be inserted in the team, it should be another big win for the Leaford Grant-coached KC.