Girls back on schedule for opening day - Jamaican coaches react to change in format at Penn Relays

Females will be in action over the first two days when competition for high schools get under way at the 130th staging of the Penn Relays, at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, on Thursday.

In 2023, organisers of the relay carnival introduced a rotational format for high school teams so the girls would have the opportunity to feature their stronger events on Saturday - in alternating years with the boys - putting added spotlight on the next generation of talent.

After the change, which saw the girls competing on the final two days, Friday and Saturday, there have been mixed reactions from Michael Dyke, head coach of Edwin Allen girls, one of the most successful female high school coaches at the meet; along with Richard Smith, first-time head coach of Kingston College and David Riley, who is in charge of the track and field athletics programme at Excelsior High School.

Edwin Allen will be defending their title in the Championships of America girls 4x100m relay, and Dyke is happy to see the schedule for females back to its usual first two days.

"It is good that the girls are getting to feature on the final day, which normally has good weather and a large turnout of fans. However, it is a lot of pressure for them competing in the preliminary round of the 4x400m relay on Saturday morning and then returning to run the finals later in the day, along with the 4x800m finals where some of the same girls are involved," said Dyke.

"Also, competing on the regular first two days, it will be more time for relaxation for the girls on Saturday as they can do their shopping and are able to watch the boys competing on that final day," he said.

At last year's staging, fans saw some exceptional performances from the girls, where Hydel won the 4x400m title for the fourth year in a row and, in the process, broke their record of 3:32.77 with a new mark of 3:30.42. Kelly-Ann Carr of Edwin Allen recorded a magnificent 400m relay split of 50.68 seconds, with Sashana Johnson of Hydel clocking 52.37 and Sydney Sutton of Bullis High 52.45.

Fans were also treated to a second record for the girls on the final day, as Union Catholic of New Jersey recorded an impressive 11:24.53 in the distance medley relay, the second-fastest time in high school history.

Smith, who has guided KC to four Championships of America 4x400m titles and will be seeking to make it five in a row, has no problem with the rotational format.

"For me, I have no problem with this as it is more of a gender balance and does give the girls a chance to showcase their talents on a Saturday, which normally has a large turnout of fans," he said.

"Last year, with the hype surrounding Bullis High and the Jamaican teams in the 4x400m relays, there was a large turnout on Friday and the girls benefited from this. At first, I didn't like it, but it is just about planning differently as you know ahead of time about the change.

"I actually love it as nothing has changed since, as we have continued to win the 4x400m irrespective of the day when the finals are being contested," Smith said.

Riley said the rotating schedule doesn't affect his co-ed team.

"It doesn't affect us much as we have to activate on all three days," he said. "Giving the girls the spotlight on Saturday is novel and we support the initiative."