April 23, 2008

NEW YORK, NY (April 23) – Eight New York-area teams automatically qualified last weekend to compete in the high-school relays at the Reebok Grand Prix on May 31, organizers announced today. All finished either first or second at the New York Relays, held at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.

The relay teams will compete on the same track as Olympic gold medalists and World Record-holders, including Liu Xiang of China, Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica and American Lauryn Williams. Many other top athletes are still to be announced for the event, which will begin at 5 p.m. on May 31 at Icahn Stadium. New bleacher seats, along the backstretch with clear views of the finish line, will be available for $15. Grandstand tickets range from $50-$24. Tickets are on sale now by phone at 1-877-TIX-TRAC or on-line at www.ReebokGrandPrix.com.

Automatically qualifying last weekend to compete in the Boys’ 4x100-Meter Relay were Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn, (Darryl Bradshaw, Naquan Alexander, John Thomas and Ayo Isijola) and Methacton High School in Norristown, Penn. (Jarrett Gordon, Carlton Lavong, Evan Williams and Brett Blackwell).

Set for the Boys’ 4x400-Meter Relay are Fordham Prep in the Bronx (Wayne Seaton, Bruce Grant, Carlos Petrovich and Zach Keefer), and Curtis High School on Staten Island (Troy Faulkner, Akeem Spence, Dominick LeGrande and Quincy Henderson). Automatically qualifying for the Girls’ 4x400-Meter Relay were Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn (Meagan Gillespie, Deandra Nelson, Hadassah Bruno and Nadonnia Rodriques) and Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh (Danielle McHolder, Dasia Jones, Dotrine Jacobs and Kellie Landell).

Chaminade High School in Mineola (Charlie Donnelly, Stephen Donnelly, Chris Tonn and Michael Schieck) and Science Skills High School in Brooklyn (Sha Kim Myers, Chinua Belle, Dwight Danes and Jamel Activille) automatically qualified for the Boys 4x800-Meter Relay.

The final qualifying meet will be the St. Anthony’s Invitational in South Huntington, Long Island, on May 3. In addition, several at-large selections will be made by Reebok Grand Prix organizers, and several top Jamaican high school teams will be invited.

For more information on entering teams, contact Paul Moser at moser@globalathletics.com or Lou Vazquez at Louis.Vazquez@parks.nyc.gov

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