The 2025 Penn Relays delivered one of the most electrifying high school 4x400m races in history, as Bullis School led by 17-year-old Olympian Quincy Wilson, shattered a 40-year-old national record with a jaw-dropping 3:06.31.
Despite falling just short of victory against Jamaica’s Kingston College (3:05.93), Wilson’s 43.99 anchor leg sent shockwaves through the track and field world.
A Record-Breaking Battle Against History
Bullis team aimed not only to challenge Jamaica’s 18-year dominance in the event but also to take down Hawthorne High School’s (CA) legendary 3:07.40 national record from 1985.
When Wilson received the baton from teammate Colin Abrams, Bullis sat in fifth place, trailing Kingston, Calabar, Excelsior, and Jamaica College. Undeterred, the young phenom unleashed a blistering surge on the first turn, igniting the Franklin Field crowd.
Despite his heroic effort, Kingston College’s anchor, Marcinho Rose, held on just enough to secure the win. Yet Wilson’s 43.99 split, one of the fastest high school anchor legs ever recorded, propelled Bullis to a 3:06.31 finish, smashing the U.S. national record by over a full second.
A Legacy Moment for Bullis and U.S. Track & Field
For Wilson, the race was about more than just winning, it was about etching his name in history.
“I just think about going back and looking at all the records—this is probably one of the hardest records that’s ever been broken,” Wilson said post-race.
“To be able to break it down with the best guys—and we didn’t just break it, we broke it by a whole second—that shows the dedication and hard work of each and every one of us.”
Even in defeat, Wilson embraced the pressure, telling his teammates beforehand to “put it all on me.”
“I’ve been on the big stage, so I said if they had any pressure, if they were nervous, put it all on me,” Quincy said.
“That’s the best thing I can do because if they’re going to throw the pressure on me, I’m going to throw it back on God.”
While Bullis made history, Kingston College solidified its own legacy, securing its fourth consecutive Penn Relays title—tying a record set in 1910 by Brooklyn’s Manual Training High School.
The race also reshaped the all-time Penn Relays leaderboard, with the top five teams—Kingston, Bullis, Calabar (3:06.52), Excelsior (3:07.98), and Jamaica College (3:08.06), now occupying spots No. 2 through No. 6 in meet history.
Bullis coach Joe Lee, while acknowledging the sting of narrowly missing gold, expressed immense pride in his team’s record-breaking run.
“I have such respect for the history of the sport, whether it be Hawthorne High School, Long Beach Poly, a lot of the records that we’ve been privileged to be a part of,” Lee said.
“We want to represent our school, our families, our community, and the USA and the sport. Our kids do a great job with that—they’re very well-mannered, well-educated, strong-character people.”
“You know what, that’s the sport. We’re not crying, we’re not making excuses, and we’re happy that we got a chance to come out here and compete,” he added.
Though the U.S. victory drought at Penn Relays continues, Wilson’s performance signals a bright future. With one more high school season remaining, the track world will eagerly watch to see if he can lead Bullis back to Penn Relays glory in 2025.