Show of force
Calabar, Edwin Allen set to send warning shots at Grand Prix finale
FOLLOWING THE completion of the four regional meets, the Digicel Grand Prix will climax today with the staging of the GC Foster Classics i nside the National Stadium, starting at 8:30 a.m.
The eight best from the four regions from specific events, including the best in the 4x400m and medley relays, will be on show later in the day, starting at 4p.m., with a top prize of $1 million to the top male and female teams up for grabs. Individuals will also be seeking great incentives, including $30,000 cash prize for the breaking of a record.
With the top three schools from the various regions being awarded with cash incentives plus the Grand Finale presenting other lucrative opportunities, the Digicel Grand Prix is seen as a major series by schools.
Edwin Allen, the Central Championships’ top female team along with St Jago High, the top male team from the Central region, are the defending champions. Edwin Allen have won in all three years of the series and are aiming to make it four in a row, while St Jago will be seeking to make it a hat-trick after winning in 2016 and 2017.
Edwin Allen will start favourites as they have some 15 qualifiers for today’s finals, the same as Holmwood Technical, but in terms of quality, the defending champions have the edge.
Kevona Davis, Tia and Tina Clayton, Kasheika Cameron and Selecia Palmer should dominate in the sprints, while they also boast a big edge i n the field events. Last year’s MVP, Fiona Richards, will lead the way in the discus, while in the jumps, there are Annia Ashley and Paula Chambers in the horizontals with Janique Burgher and Abigail Mullings in the vertical.
Holmwood and last year’s second-place finishers Excelsior, which has some nine qualifiers, will be hoping to spoil Edwin Allen’s party, but the two will have to score maximum points in most of their events if they hope to have a shot at the top prize.
After finishing second for the past three years and losing by 1.5 points to St Jago a year ago, there will be no stopping Calabar this time around. The green and black will turn up with 22 qualifiers for finals – the most among the males and seven more than Kingston College.
Despite, in all fairness, not trying for the past three years to win the title and still coming close, the Michael Clarke-coached team has shown a real interest from the beginning this time around. Top sprinter Michael Stephens will not feature in the senior boys 100 metres due to injury. Calabar will have a representative in all of the other finals for today.
All eyes will be on the 400 metres for Class One boys as Christopher Taylor and teammate Shemar Chambers will be hoping to score big points, but Kingston College’s Dashawn Morris could put a dent in the Calabar armoury.
Calabar through Andre Leslie and Dean Clarke are hoping to score heavily in the boys’ Class Two 400 metres hurdles, with KC’s Shantamoi Brown and Excelsior High Devontie Archer capable of causing an upset or two.
Top man in the boys’ Class One, Malik James-King should continue his dominance for Calabar, and his teammate Nicquaine Henry should help to add some solid points here. After a sizzling per formance i n the 4x400-metre relays a few weeks ago, fans will be hoping for a repeat here, as with some competition now expected from the likes of St Jago, Petersfield, Jamaica College and St Elizabeth Technical, the quartet of Taylor, Chambers, JamesKing and Anthony Carpenter could go even faster than their world high school leading time of 3:05.04. Unfor tunately, the second-fastest schoolboy team in the country this year, Kingston College, which won at the Gibson McCook Relays in 3: 09.98, will be absent, as they did not field a team at the Corporate Area Development Meet.