Dyke expects easy Champs win
Edwin Allen High School was one of the most successful teams at the Gibson McCook Relays at the National Stadium on Saturday with the Michael Dyke coached team winning three relay events and also a quinella in the women’s open high jump. Two of the wins came in championship events, the Class One 4x100m, in 44.81 seconds, and the 4x800m Open. To add to this, they had two record runs, as the Class Three 4x100m team clocked an amazing 44.76 seconds, while the 4x800 metres team stopped the clock at 8:46.40. They also walked away with the Teddy McCook Trophy and a cash prize of $100,000 for being the most outstanding team on the day. Although the performances has further increased his confidence, Dyke left the National Stadium with mixed feelings on Saturday as he reflected on the overall performance of his team.
WERE UNLUCKY
“For me, it was mixed feelings on our performance as we were expected to win more events although we were unlucky in the 4x200m, where the baton was dropped on the third leg after having a big lead”, said Dyke. Dyke spoke highly of the recordbreaking teams, especially the 4x800m unit. “After Central Championships, I spoke to the girls about the importance of the Gibson McCook Relays as this was a prestigious meet and they were highly motivated and I was not surprised of them bouncing back. It was the same thing a year ago when we lost to Holmwood at the Milo Western Relays before winning at Gibson Relays in record time”, said Dyke. Dyke also spoke about his young Class Three quartet, which is the fastest female high school relay team in the island this season.
“These young ladies are full of confidence and are highly motivated and three of them are coming into the class for the first time. Salieci Myles is the only returnee from last year’s sub-45 second team, but I am not surprised because they are coming off a sub-47 second Class Four team from last year”, said Dyke.
After a strong performance at Central Championships, especially in the jumps where they won all horizontal events plus their overall performance on Saturday, Dyke stated that he is confident of another big win in a few weeks’ time at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships.
“This team is full of confidence and they can’t wait for Champs to come as they are ready to deliver once again big time, and I do not think there are any weaknesses in any area in the team. We should easily retain our title despite the likes of Hydel and Holmwood showing great improvement”, said a confident Dyke.