What can American high school sprint relay teams do this weekend to answer Calabar Secondary School's remarkable effort in the 4x100m?
The Calabar relay team ran a searing 39.64 seconds Wednesday at the ISSA's Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Athletic Championships (Champs) at National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.
No high school team in American history has run faster.
Fort Worth Wyatt (Tx.) High last ran what stands today as the national record in 1998 with a time of 39.76 seconds at the Texas Championships in Austin. It was one of five relays under 40 seconds for Wyatt that year.
But just one other American team has gone under 40 seconds in American history: Houston Forest Brook (Tx.) High, which ran 39.95 seconds in 2001.
A year ago, Fort Bend Marshall (Tx.) led the nation with a time of 40.13 seconds, while Vista Murrieta (Ca.), DeSoto (Tx.), Lancaster (Tx.) and Arcbishop Carroll (DC) all ran times in the range of 40.3 seconds.
So who has a chance to go under 40 this weekend?
At Florida Relays, Miramar (40.95) -- which has three athletes under 10.57 seconds in the 100m -- and Plantation American Heritage (40.59) -- when healthy -- have aspirations to go under 40 seconds.
DeSoto (40.86) and Manvel (40.93), meanwhile, will be aiming for record times at Texas Relays. The Division 2 record is currently 40.54 seconds.
Related Links:
- Texas Relays performance lists