PHILADELPHIA – On the opening morning of the historic 130th Penn Relays Carnival, one of the most prestigious high school and collegiate track and field events in North America, Jamaica’s Sydney Pagon High School delivered a stunning performance to claim the top qualifying position for Friday’s final of the High School Girls’ Championships of the Americas Relays. Competing in warm conditions at Franklin Field on Thursday, the quartet of Annateseca Blackwood, Kamaya Graham, Denae Hodges and Alexia Palmer clocked an impressive 9 minutes 1.33 seconds to finish first in the qualifying round. The time not only secured their spot in the decisive final but also put them firmly ahead of one of the event’s most decorated programs, Edwin Allen High. The former championship-winning Edwin Allen squad crossed the line in 9:02.66, a solid time that was still more than a second slower than Sydney Pagon High’s leading mark, enough to earn the team a place in the upcoming final. Among the other notable Jamaican programs advancing through qualifying, Alphansus Davis, which took home second place in last year’s championship, claimed victory in its respective heat with a time of 9:08.30, positioning the team as a dark horse contender for the podium on Friday. Another program with a history of winning the Penn Relays title, Holmwood Technical, also earned a spot in the final after posting a qualifying time of 9:14.80. All eyes will now turn to Friday’s final, where the top Jamaican distance relay programs will face off for the continental championship title at the iconic Penn Relays Carnival. Reporting by Paul A Reid