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From the moment he sat down in the press room today, Tyree Washington made it clear that he had not forgotten about last year's 4x400-meter relay -- especially the last 150 or so meters -- in the USA vs. the World competition.

"For me, it was just a matter of redemption," he said. "It was a matter of revenge."

There was no baton drop this time. Although the race was close for a while, especially heading into the anchor leg, in the end it wasn't close. Washington's USA Blue, anchored by Wallace Spearmon, crossed the line first in 3:00.09, and USA Red was right behind in 3:00.13. Jamaica came in fourth, behind a World All-Stars team that included 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m hurdles Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic.

As the leadoff man, Washington came to the starting blocks with his competitive juices fully flowing.

"I want to break your back -- it's nothing personal against you, but I want to break your back," he said. "I don't care if my mother's out there, it makes no difference to me."

USA Blue's anchor was Wallace Spearmon, no stranger to Franklin Field after four years running for Arkansas. He described his first trip as a pro as "a whole different atmosphere."

"In college, you might have two or three guys who are great and you might have another guy who's just decent," he said. "But being put out there with four great guys on the same team and another four great guys from other countries, it's just the best of the best."

For the fourth time in the seven-year history of the USA vs. the World competition, the United States swept the top spots in all the sprint competitions. I say sprint competitions specifically because for the first time, there was a USA vs. the World men's distance medley relay, which Kenya A came back to win by .07 seconds over USA Blue. USA Blue's anchor was Bernard Lagat, who won a silver and a bronze medal in Athens just months after becoming an American citizen.

In the women's sprint medley relay, Lauryn Williams brought the house down for a second time with a blistering 200-meter leadoff leg. USA Blue set a new world record in the event with its final time of 3:37.16, beating last year's record time of 3:37.42.

The USA Blue men's 4x100 team, by the way, had its victory reinstated after an appeal, as a four-judge panel decided no violation had occured.

The biggest rout of the day came in the women's 4x400m relay, as USA Blue beat second place Jamaica by more than three seconds. Sanya Richards ran a 49.8 second anchor leg, the only person in that race to crack the 50-second barrier.

Richard said the weather, which really was spectacular all three days, gave her a boost.

"It makes a huge difference, especially mentally," she said. "You can visualize the race and run it exactly how you see it in your mind."

So that wraps up our coverage of the 112th Penn Relays Carnival on The Buzz. Thanks for reading along, and we'll see you back at the track next year.