By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

While Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown was leaving his mark at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, his ‘Golden Knights’ team-mates were making their presence felt at the Penn Relays over the weekend where Tabernacle Baptist and St Augustine’s College high school teams and the College of the Bahamas also got some success in Philadelphia.

Competing on Super Saturday in the showdown dubbed the USA vs the World, the team of Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu, Alonzo Russell (45.48), and Ramon Miller (45.57) clocked three minutes and 01.63 seconds to take second place. The American team of Bryshon Nellum (45.7), Brycen Spratling (45.2), Clayton Parros (45.11) and Patrick Feeney (44.84) won the title in 3:00.86.

The Jamaican team of Allodin Fothergill (46.8), Javon Francis (45.3), Ricardo Chambers (45.89) and Rusheen McDonald (45.07) picked up third place in 3:03.02.

“I just want to give God thanks for allowing us to get the baton and coming out of the event healthy,” Miller said. “We all gave it a great effort. The time wasn’t what we wanted to run, but it was good for us to get that first race out. I know it was a blow out for Alonzo (Russell) running with us for the first time. We went out there and gave it our best effort. That was what mattered the most.”

All three teams no doubt will clash in a re-match this weekend from the initial World Relays last year where the USA avenged their defeat to the ‘Golden Knights’ at the 2012 London Olympics and last year at the Penns. But Miller feel this will be a different story this year.

“This is our home soil. We have home advantage, which is one of the biggest advantages in any event,” he said. “With the crowd, we believe we will perform even more. That is one of the reasons for being at home. So we are looking forward to putting on a show for the Bahamian crowd.”

While they ran without Brown, Miller said they were pleased to see how well he performed at the Drake Relays where he got third in the 400m.

“Chris is the leader. We just spoke to him and he motivated us,” Miller said. “He told us he saw some mistakes we made, but he was pleased with the effort. So seeing him perform against the top guys was a major boost for us. We know that when we add him to the mix, we will have a very good team to compete with because we also have Steven Gardiner, who has also ran a good time this year.”

The men’s team was one of two featuring our elite athletes at the Penn Relays. A Caribbean All-Star comprising of Bahamians Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, Anthonique Strachan, Lanece Clarke and Sheniqua ‘Q’ Ferguson ran 1:32.40 for third place in the women’s 4 x 200m.

The event, which will also be contested at the World Relays this weekend, was won by the American team of Leslie Cole, Tawanna Meadows, Cambrya Jones and Porscha Lucas in 1:31.98. The Jamaican team of Shericka Williams, Sherone Simpson, Schillonie Calvert and Natasha Morrison was second in 1:31.98.

A team from the College of the Bahamas, as well as a number of high schools from New Providence and Grand Bahama, also competed in the meet.

Tabernacle Falcons out of Grand Bahama led the team performances as their quartet of Johnathan Smith, Javon Martin, Ken Russell and Holland Martin pulled off the victory in the high school boys’ 4 x 100 small schools in 41.389. St Augustine’s team of Xavier Coakley, Carlos Outten, Duane Murray and Tavonte Mott got fourth in 41.96.

SAC’s team of Xavier Coakley (52.86), Carlos Outten (54.50), Justin Major (51.59), and Justin Pinder (47.94) got seventh in the high school boys’ 4 x 400m in 3:26.87. Tabernacle followed with Ricardo Richardson (52.41), Holland Martin (52.27), Jullian Brown (52.48), and Kendrick Thompson (49.93) running 3:27.08 for eighth and CV Bethel got 10th in 3:40.46 with the team of Devon Cox (51.47), Clifford Dean (57.08), Justin Thomas (53.56), and Aaron Cox (58.37.

Another victory came from SAC’s team of Dreshanae Rolle (1:01.68), Marissa White (59.11), Keianna Albury (1:00.84), and Doneisha Anderson (56.25) in 3:57.87 in the high school girls’ 4 x 400, but in the high school girls’ 4 x 100 Championship of America, the team of Blayre Catalyn, Keianna Albury, Taj Dorsett and Doneisha Anderson had to settle for seventh in 47.41.

The best individual showing came from Denzel Pratt of St Augustine’s College, who made history by winning the high school boys’ javelin with a toss of 63.61 metres or 208-feet, 8-inches on his third attempt.

Serena Brown picked up a sixth place finish for SAC in the high school girls’ discus with a heave of 41.60m (136-5) on her second throw, while Laquel Harris of Queen’s College was 15th with 37.43m (122-9) on her second attempt.

CARIFTA double gold medallist Charisma Taylor of Queen’s College was 10th in the high school girls’ triple jump with a leap of 11.44m (37-11 1/2) on her second attempt.

The College of the Bahamas’ team of Yurick Dean, Dennis Williamson, Coty Willis and Cresy Dussard was 33rd in the College men’s 4 x 100m heats in 42.33, but the team of Dennis Williamson, Cresy Dussard, Coty Willis and Yurick Dean feared better in the 4 x 200m as they placed 17th in 1:27.36.

Meanwhile, Teray Smith, representing Auburn University, was third in the college men’s 100m dash in 10.42.