US 400m star praises KC quartet

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND:

AT THE recent Penn Relays in Philadelphia, young United States quarter-miler Quincy Wilson ran the fastest-ever 400-metre relay split in a high-school boys’ 4x400 relay, clocking 43.99 seconds for Bullis High School, which finished second behind Kingston College (KC).

KC made it four wins in a row in the event after clocking 3:05.93.

A year ago, at 16 years old, Wilson, now a junior at his high school, became the youngest member of a United States team to win gold at the Olympic Games, after being part of the 4x400m winning team where he ran in the preliminary round.

Bullis have become one of the main challengers to the Jamaican teams in the 4x400 metres relay over the past two years, finishing third a year ago and second this year. They were favoured to end the dominance of the Jamaican teams in the event. The last American school to win was Long Beach Poly, out of California in 2007, but this was not to be. Despite Wilson’s heroic anchor leg, they had to settle for second.

Ahead of the Puma East Coast International Showcase meet at Morgan State University in Maryland, The Gleaner visited Bullis High School in Potomac, Maryland where Wilson and his teammates were busy preparing for the meet. Wilson spoke about his team’s battle with the Jamaicans and his track and field preparation as a student athlete.

“At the recent Penn Relays, I would like to lift my hat off to Kingston College as they were the winners on the day and they did it fair and square. There was no scramble, no mishap during the race,” said Wilson, referring to what happened the year before when the third leg runner on his team fell. Getting the baton at the back of the field on the final leg, he brought his team back into contention but couldn’t get them to the front. The performance left many thinking of what could have been.

One of the quickest races

In what was one of the quickest races in the event’s history at the Penn Relays – the top five teams went under 3:08.50 – Wilson was seen at the end of the race congratulating members of the KC and Calabar teams.

“No matter what, at the end of the day, we have to show respect to the winners, and Kingston College was the best team that day,” he said.

“I have another year at the Penn Relays, and it is for me and my teammates to prepare and come stronger and better to go all the way next time,” he stated.

He enjoys the rivalry with the Jamaican teams.

“It is a big rivalry competing against the Jamaican teams at Penns, and I like this, as it pushes the respective teams to get better, and this is good for the sport. Everyone goes out there to win, and, in the end, it is the best team that normally wins. And we have to respect this,” he said.

Wilson goes as far as watching the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships.

“I do watch the Jamaican high-school championships. After seeing Kingston College winning the 4x400 in 3:07.46, we were highly motivated ahead of Penns. A week earlier, our team clocked 3:09 at the Florida Relays, and, after seeing the Kingston College time, we trained a bit harder, as we knew we had to run much faster to be successful at Penn Relays,” he shared.

“I am indeed happy to be part of the greatest race in the 4x400m relay, especially seeing that Jamaica College, which finished fifth, was timed at 3:08.06,” said Wilson.

The push to get better doesn’t just come from competition, though, said Wilson pointing to the influence of his teammates, especially from Cameron Homer, the second-fastest member on his relay team, who was third at the National Indoor Championships.

“In training, we push each other and that really helps with the team getting better. It is hard, but we do not complain, as this is the reason we run fast times in competition.”