BENJAMIN CARDOZO, Queens, New York: From left, Cardozo’s Lateisha Philson (US), Chamique Francis (Ja.), Ahtyana Johnson (B'dos) and Alexis Mapson (US) clocked 3:53.19 to win.	BOYS & GIRLS, Brooklyn, New York: From left, Khamani Davis Park (US), Daniel Simon (T&T), Rohan Stewart (Ja.) and Robert Rhodes (US) finished ahead in 3:32.27.

MEDGAR EVERS PREP, Brooklyn, New York: From left,  Shakele Seaton (T&T), Rachel Leeke (T&T), Kadecia Baird (Guyana ) and Nyanka Moise-Joseph (St. Lucia) ran 3:32.21 for second.	MIDWOOD HIGH, Brooklyn, New York: From left are Gavin Henry (Guyana), Alex Sterling (Panama), Andy Nicholas (Haiti) and Donald Williams (Ja.). The team finished second in 3:32.36.

MEDGAR EVERS PREP: From left, Jason Genius (Ja.), Adrian Lewis (T&T), Matthew West (US) and Andre Jordon (Ja.) clocked 3:32.37 for third in a driving finish in photo at right.	THRILLER AT THE LINE: Boys & Girls anchor (left) surged pass and held off Midwood (right, 2nd) and Medgar Evers (center, 3rd) in the final straight, then lost his shoe at the tape. The times: 3:32.27, 3:32.36, 3:32.37.

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY: From left,  Dwight Mullings, Emanuel Mayers, Tavaris Tate and Alex Richter won the 4x4  in 3:19.44 (a new Games collegiate record). Their coach, Steve Dudley, is behind them. Mullings, Jamaica's top quarter-miler in 2009 , ran the gritty second leg and noted afterwards that, except for him, it was the team's first experience running on a wooden boarded track.

The temperature was freezing outside but the excitement was fever pitch at the January 29, 2010 Millrose Games inside the world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York City. Hundreds of athletes, some of whom have Caribbean roots, battled for supremacy, giving the crowd much to shout and scream about. 

A mere .10 secs, for example, separated the winner, Boys & Girls High School of Brooklyn, from third place Medgar Evers Prep, also of Brooklyn, in the PSAL (Public School Athletic League) Boys 4x400m relay. But that was not the only thriller of the evening. In the PSAL Girls 4x400m relay, Ahtyana Johnson, the Benjamin Cardozo senior who suffered from a stomach virus and fever a day earlier, ran down Medgar Evers' Shakele Seaton and caught her at the finish line after closing down a big lead on the homestretch. Her run ignited the crowd that saw Medgar Evers take an early lead and seemed unbeatable until one step before the wire.

In the Boys 4x4, Boys & Girls copped its first Millrose Games mile relay title since 1996. The team came from behind to edge Midwood, also of Brooklyn, and Medgar Evers in a tight finish that saw all top three spots within .10 of a second.

Early in the race Boys & Girls wasn’t among the contenders, as Medgar Evers and Midwood staged a battle royal for the lead. But Boys & Girls anchor Robert Rhodes joined the challenge in the homestretch and managed to nip both Midwood and Medgar Evers at the line, running out of one of his shoes in the process.

At the college level, Mississippi State men's indoor track team with Jamaican senior  Dwight Mullings on the second leg and reserve Alex Richter on the third, refused to be intimidated in the Men 1,600m relay and won in 3:19.44 to set a collegiate record for Millrose. Mississippi anchored with Tavaris Tate, the top 400m runner as a high school senior in the US last year.

And some Olympic and World Championships stars from the Caribbean were in action at The Garden. Barbados’ 2009 Worlds 110m Hurdles Champion Ryan Brathwaite (7.61), Jamaica’s Olympic and Worlds short sprints champion Veronica Campbell-Brown (7.24) and Guyana’s Commonwealth Games gold medalist Aliann Pompey (55.19) all placed second  in the men’s 60m hurdles, women’s 60m dash and 400m, respectively. Jamaica’s Edino Steele (1:11.30), the World Indoor 4x400m silver medalist, was also second in the men's 600 yards and T&T’s 2009 World Championships bronze medalist Renny Quow (1:11.60) was third.

See photo captions for some Caribbean connections among the New York high schools.