Bullis' Quincy Wilson Sends Shockwaves With Two 44-Second Splits, But Even He Can't Overcome Unfortunate Spills

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

Photos by John Nepolitan

PHILADELPHIA - There were only three high school finals Saturday at the 128th Penn Relays, but that’s all that was needed to put on a show. All three – the boys 4x100, 4x400, and 4x800 relays – came with fireworks included, and it started and ended with a fall.

INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by John Nepolitan

Boys 4x400 Meter Relay

Champion: Jamaica College, 3:11.86

Typically, the thought of 32 heats of anything might seem unpleasant, but hours of "letter races" is one of the things this meet is known for, and the fans’ reward for watching all those prelims was one of the most exciting races of the weekend.

Alexander Lambert of Bullis School MD tripped and fell in the first leg, and he handed off the baton in 11th place, more than three seconds off the lead. In the second and third legs, Colin Abrams and Matthew Grimes made up some ground, handing off in eighth and sixth place, respectively.

When sophomore Quincy Wilson took the baton, though, he was still more than two seconds back – the broadcast camera didn't even have him in view.

Of course, that's when the Quincy show started. The 16-year-old phenom tore up ground on the back stretch, and the crowd became deafening as he passed more and more runners. By the home stretch, he had already taken the lead, and he crossed the line with a ridiculous 44.37 split, the fastest in Penn Relays history, giving Bullis the win in a time of 3:14.84.

“I knew I just wanted to get my team into the finals,” Wilson said. “The 44 wasn’t about me, it was about my teammates… bringing them together. I knew I wanted to see us go to the next round, so I knew I had to give it everything I got.”

Going into the final, six hours later, many expected that Bullis would come out on top with a clean race.

Unfortunately, that remains an “if,” as the second handoff got messy, causing their third leg, Cameron Horner, to take a spill after taking the baton and tripping over the top of a runner from Excelsior (Jamaica). Wilson still made up some ground on the anchor leg, recording another sub-45 split (44.69), but it wasn’t enough for the win.

Bullis finished third in 3:13.10, just behind Kingston College in 3:11.86 and Excelsior in 3:12.94.

One of Bullis' remaining goals this season is to take down the national record of 3:07.40. Even if the Bulldogs don't do it this spring, they'll return three of their four legs, so it could just as easily go down in 2025.

Of course, they'll need a clean race.

Boys 4x100 relay

Champion: Excelsior, 40.45

No surprises here: Jamaican schools swept the podium in this event, with Excelsior taking the win in 40.45 seconds, followed by Kingston College in 40.53 and Herbert Morrison in 40.56.

Archbishop Carroll DC, led by national indoor 200-meter champion Jake Odey-Jordan, was the fastest American team for the second year in a row, finishing in 40.68 seconds.

The Lions’ relay teams have been impressive this season, to say the least; they won the 4x200 relay at New Balance Nationals Indoor with a national record time of 1:26.36, and they won the small-school 4x100 at the Texas Relays in March with a time of 40.73.

They might have been closer to both the 40-second barrier and the win today had it not been for some trouble with the second handoff,. They came in expecting to win, and despite the impressive time, left Franklin Field wanting a little bit more.

“We wanted to win,” anchor Damil Bostic said. “We were in the same predicament last year, so we just wanted to come out here and pull out the win. Obviously, we weren’t able to do that.”

They could get the championship they're looking for in June, at Franklin Field, at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor.

Boys 4x800

Champion: Jamaica College, 7:42.37

The 4x800 also ended with a Jamaican team, Jamaica College, taking the win, but this race featured a bit more intrigue.

Council Rock North PA handed off the baton in first after the opening leg, but Karil Arnold of St. John’s College and Joe Edwards of Christian Brothers TN threw down second legs of 1:53.94 and 1:52.53, respectively, putting them 1-2 at the second handoff. Christian Brothers’ third leg, Noah Mullenix, then split a 1:56, putting them solidly in the lead.

At the bell, it seemed like Christian Brothers’ race to lose, but Kemarrio Bygrave, Jamaica College’s anchor, had other plans. He made up a lot of ground on the back stretch, and with 200 meters left, the Jamaican fans started to get loud, sensing it was going to be a close finish.

And then… it wasn't. Bygrave took the lead with around 60 left, and Kaleb Smith, Christian Brothers' anchor, fell down in the home stretch, leading to a fourth-place finish. Jamaica College crossed the line in 7:42.37 for its second win in three years, while St John's College DC finished second in 7:44.66, the third-best time in the country in 2024.

“At the end of the race, it was kind of where pride in my training kicked in,” Keenan Frisby, St. John’s College’s anchor, said. “I felt like I could just go and keep fighting… I just kept fighting, kept going until the very end.”