ALUMNI & FRIENDS

ALUMNI & FRIENDS

Thursday, April 11, 2024

It is well known that Excelsior (XLCR) was the second Jamaican High School to compete at the world-renowned Penn Relay Carnival when they joined Kingston College in 1965, which had tremendous success there the previous year.

Fifty-nine years ago, XLCR’s Neville Myton won the 1 Mile Championship, becoming the first Jamaican schoolboy to win an individual event at Penn’s. The Mile relay team finished 4th in the Championship of America (COA) Final after leadoff runner Trevor Angus was spiked twice. Who says track and field is not a contact sport?

Photo from The DASH Athletic Vault

In the ensuing 4 years, XLCR teams coached by Tony Carr were to enjoy some great successes at Penn’s, winning One COA Sprint Relay title and coming 2nd in two while enjoying the runner-up spot twice in the COA Mile Relay.

With the de-emphasizing of the sport at the school, XLCR teams were absent from Penns for 40 years, only returning in 2013. This came about due to the motivation of then-new Boys Head Coach David Riley, who convinced DASH Athletics to mobilize the resources to take a team of 6 boys to Penns. After some deliberations, DASH Athletics agreed to Coach Riley’s proposal.

Since then, the school has had some good successes at Penns, a meeting that is now radically different and eminently much more competitive than when XLCR competed there in the 1960s.

2014 XLCR Eagles Penn Relays Contingent Celebrate After The Event
Photo from The DASH Athletic Vault

Some highlights of the return of the XLCR Eagles return to Penns:

1. The first two years didn’t see much success. In 2013, the 4x400mR team missed the COA final when leadoff man Jonah Morgan was tripped, resulting in the team finishing 4th in their heat. Penns 4x400mR heats are definitely a contact sport.
2. 2014 saw a Lady Eagle competing at Penn’s for the very first time. Shanice Love finished 14th in the Girls Discus Throw Championship. Her entry sparked some debate among DASH members, who thought that at 16 years old, she was too young for such a competition.
3. 2015 would see a change of fortune for the Eagles. They made the COA Finals for the first time in 47 years. finishing 6th. A Lady Eagle sprint relay team was also entered for the first time but did not make the COA final.
4. With the foundations for the renewed participation of the Eagles at Penns now firmly laid, the school went on over the next 6 stagings (2016 to 2023) of Penns to win:

• Four Penn Relay Shields
• 2 High School Girls’ Discus Throw Championships, including a Penn Relays and Jamaica Junior record throw by Shanice Love
• A bronze medal in the 2018 High School Girls’ High Jump Championship by Shantae Foreman.
• Making 7 Championship of America finals, including 2 by the Lady Eagles
• A bronze medal in the 2018 High School Boys’ Discus Throw Championship by Phillipe Barnett
• The 2023 High School Boys’ 4x100mR International Championship.
• Numerous Small Schools Sprint Relays Finals

With the recent magnificent and historic performances of the Eagles sprinters and the Lady Eagles Throwers at Boys and Girls Champs 2024, expectations are high that XLCR’s results at this year’s Penn Relays will be the best since the halcyon days of the late 1960s.

These expectations are based on the exceptional Champs and seasonal performances in the following events:

1. Boys Sprint Relay – At Champs, the Class 2 Boys ran away with the title in 40.35, a time which could have copped the bronze medal in the Class 1 equivalent. Meanwhile, the Class 1 team, the Corporate Champions, and a favorite all year, had a mishap placing 4th in the final, nonetheless. Barring any unfortunate circumstances, XLCR will be hard to beat here.
2. Boys 4x400m Relays – All season, the Eagle’s long relay squad has been one of the best in the land. They are the only ones to have beaten the eventual Champs winners, KC, this year.
3. Girls 4x400mR – This squad set a school record, 3:44.73, at Corporate Champs and should be very competitive at Penn’s.
4. Girls Shot Put – Kahllah Bailey and Altonique James were 1-2 at Champs. Their performances at Champs could have gotten them both in the top 4 in the past two editions of the Relays.
5. Girls Discus Throw – Najhada Seymoure has been one of the most consistent Jamaican Junior discus throwers over the past 3 years, adding the Champs Class 1 title to the Class 2 crown she won 2 years ago. She’s also recently minted Carifta U20 bronze in Grenada. Her PB of 49.23m, set at Champs last month, would have placed her on the medal podium in both the last two Penns finals.

Damor Miller (c) – First Exxcelsorian to win the Class 1 Boys 100m in 50 years
photosbybellamy.com

On Tuesday, April 23, 2024 – 9 Eagles and 8 Lady Eagles will take flight to Philadelphia to take part in Penns 2024. This XLCR Eagles squad is very talented and well-prepared. They are extremely well-coached, focused, and confident and are ready to enhance the historic performances they have laid down throughout the season. They intend to represent the Excelsior Community with approbation and distinction, so kindly support them in any way you can.

© Desmond Karl Shakespeare

Shaks
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DASH Athletic Foundation
https://www.dashxlcr.org/
Helping student-athletes excel athletically without compromising the priority that DASH Athletics assigns to Excelsior High School’s academic standards and to our commitment to student academic success.