G.C. Foster shine at Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania:

High-school teams stole most of the spotlight at last weekend’s 127th staging of the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, but several of the country’s senior athletes made their marks at the relay carnival.

Competing against the top collegiate athletes from the United States, the Maurice Wilson-coached 4x100 and 4x400 metres team from G.C. Foster College had excellent performances on Friday and Saturday, with top-two finishes.

In the Championship of America College 4x200 metres final on Friday’s second day of competition, the G.C. Foster quartet of Jhevaughn Whyte, Kadrien Goldson, Zadrian Barnes and Michael Sharpe put on a very outstanding display to score after a convincing win in one minute 23.20 seconds to turn back the likes of Clemson University, 1:24.32, and the University of Houston, 1:25.02.

On Saturday, the St Catherine-based institution came very close to securing a second win in the Championship of America College 4x100 metres. After going toe to toe with favourites Houston, it took a brilliant anchor leg by the winners to claim the win over G.C. Foster. Houston won the event in 39 40 seconds just ahead of G.C. Foster, who were second in 39.45 and Clemson third in 39.71. The University of West Indies were sixth in 40.10. The members of the G.C. Foster team were Sharpe, Odaine Stephenson, Andrea Dacres and Jevan Rowlins.

G.C. Foster also had a fourth-place finish in the 4x400m after clocking three minutes 06.06 seconds as Texas Christian University won in 3:04.41.

Former World Under-20 discus champion Kai Chang, representing The University of West Indies, also walked away with a win at the meet, after taking the college event with a distance of 60.62 metres .

OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT EVENTS

Led by many-time National 800 metres champion Natoya Goule, Jamaican athletes had three top-three finishes in Olympic Development events.

After leading for greater part of the way in the women’s 600m, Goule (1:24.96) was caught close to home by American Ajee Wilson. Wilson won in 1:24,45.

Leah Anderson took second in the women’s 400 metres in 51.97 seconds, while Karayme Bartley (46.39) was also second in the men’s event.