Poly Long Beach CA 3:11.22

by John Dye

What was remarkable was not that Poly won, but that they made the Championship of America race at all. They dropped the baton while contending for the lead on the third leg of their heat (race #211), and it took a 47.1 split by anchor Derrick Jones, fastest of the 43 preliminary heats, to bring Poly from 5th to 2nd to squeeze into the finals with a time of 3:18.23.

In the finals, a sensational 45.7 anchor by Jones (left, below) caught the double twin team of Winslow NJ 3:11.47 in the last 50 meters as a crowd of 39,783 roared. Winslow's anchor Antraye Miles split 46.8 himself and was beaten by only 0.25 second.

the finish

photos by Errol Anderson

Poly team celebrates

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