Wesley Powell, Tyser Mills meets on today

THE 16th staging of the Wesley Powell/heart Institute of the Caribbean track and field meet runs off today at Excelsior High School grounds starting at 8:30 am.

The meet will have 40 track and 36 field events for both males and females, who will compete in classes one to four and open for high schools, with several clubs, colleges, and institutions also expected to feature.

David Riley, member of the organising committee, who is also the head coach of Excelsior High School’s track and field team, is expecting a very successful meet.

“The meet is a very important part of the calendar, especially for the coaches, who plan their programmes properly, and it is a very good time trial to see where their athletes are after an extended preparation phase,” said Riley.

“I think when you put them into competition, you get the mental side as well and so the expectations are that the quality will be there and people will be competitive in trying to get personal bests at these over distance events,” he said.

With the full endorsement from the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association and Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association, the meet will provide valuable pre-season competition in the following events: 150m, 300m, 600m, 1000m, 3000m (females), 5000m (males), long jump, high jump, shot put, discus, javelin, and the exciting 4x300m relays. There will only be one relay team per school.

The field events as well as the 3000m and 5000m will serve as qualifiers for the Boys’ and Girls’ Champs 2019.

Meanwhile, there will be action at G C Foster College courtesy of the Tyser Mills Development Meet.

Last year, Calabar High School’s Christopher Taylor and Petersfield High School’s Antonio Watson both kicked off their season with wins.

Taylor sent early signals to his rivals when he stopped the clock at 21.50 seconds in the 200m, while Watson won the Class Two 400m in 51.32 seconds. Both went on to be crowned champions at the Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships.

A number of top schools from all over the island are expected to be in action once again.