McKenley-Wint highlight busy day
IT WILL be a busy day today on the local track and field circuit as there with six meets listed on the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association calendar.
At Calabar High, there will be the second staging of the McKenley-Wint Invitational, while at Excelsior High, we will see the Big Shot Invitational taking focus. G.C. Foster College will be host to the Central Hurdles and Relays meet, while in Discovery Bay, St Ann, the North Central Development Meet will draw attention.
Morant Bay High School will host the Morant Bay Relays, while in the West it will be Hurdles Fest and Relays at the Montego Bay Sport Complex. All meets will begin at 8:30 a.m.
After a successful staging last year, Calabar High School is expected to stage another spectacle at their Red Hills Road home. After great performances at two different venues last Saturday, the defending ISSA Grace-Kennedy boys champions, Calabar and perennial rivals Kingston College will lock horns as the North Street-based team will be well represented with over 130 athletes entered.
Both teams are expected to battle once again for top honours at the major championships this year, and this meet is sure to give fans a teaser of the showdown to come throughout the rest of the season, with both teams looking to score early psychological points.
Despite the likes of Christopher Taylor, Dejour Russell and Michael Stevens not making their season debut today for Calabar, there should be intense competition from both teams especially in Class One and Three where both are extremely strong.
BATTLE ROYALE
The programme will kick off with the girls Open 400m Hurdles where Vere Technical’s Sanique Walker and Hydel’s Shian Solomon, who were finalists last year at Champs, are expected to have a battle royale. The boys’ Class Two and Class One 400m Hurdles will follow before the girls and boys’ 1500m for all classes get under way with the sprint hurdles to follow.
The Class Two boys’ 400m hurdles, which will be contested at Champs following ISSA’s recent amendments, will follow the Class One event. Later in the day starting at 3:40 p.m., it will be the Olympic Development 400m and 800m events for males and females, where several club athletes will be vying for cash prizes of $50,000 each for the fastest male and female times in both events.
At G.C. Foster College, top female teams, Edwin Allen, Holmwood Technical, St Jago High and Vere Technical are expected to have a keen contest her. On the male side, St Jago and Jamaica College are the top teams here. The girls Open 400m hurdles will be the first event and Holmwood Technical’s Nicolee Foster, one of the favourites for the event at Champs this year is expected to continue from where she left off last season.